Carrier, Capitalism and Candidness
I am a tried and true capitalist. I believe in free markets. And I believe in always doing what’s best for your economic interests. I also believe in being honest about it.
I bring this up because of the announcement this week that United Technologies Corporation, the parent company of Carrier was relocating its facilities here in Indianapolis and Huntington to Mexico. Approximately 1400 people are going to lose their jobs over the next couple of years. Even more families are going to be hurt and the west side of Indianapolis and several eastern parts of Hendricks County will feel the impact.
I get a business making a business decision. The goal of a business is to make money. I have several business ventures and I don’t do them out of the kindness of my heart. However, whenever I deal with someone, I am straight up that I am out to make money. It would have been nice for Carrier to be straightforward and honest about its decision.
Carrier says the reason that it was relocating was because of federal regulations, but when pressed by U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly to name one regulation, Chris Nelson of Carrier Corporation, the President of Carrier’s HVAC systems and services for North America, he couldn’t.
Carrier also talked about being closer to its suppliers in Mexico, but once again, when pressed by Donnelly to name which parts and supplies they couldn’t get here in Indiana or whether they would get a better deal on the parts, Carrier came up short.
So what is this really all about? Wages, plain and simple. Carrier pays at least $24 an hour to its employees, in Mexico it’s less than $5 a day. It’s cheaper to manufacture products south of the border, I get it. So just be honest and straightforward about it. (And pay back all the state, local and federal tax credits you’ve received in the process).
Carrier wants to increase its profit margin by lowering its labor costs. I get it. I understand it. It would just be nice if they were honest about it.
