Following the announcement of tariffs, Stellantis NV announced on Thursday that it was temporarily laying off 900 workers at five US locations and halting production at one assembly plant each in Mexico and Canada. Stellantis’ chief operating officer for America, Antonio Filosa, said that the automaker is “continuing to assess the medium- and long-term effects of these tariffs on our operations, but also have decided to take some immediate actions.”
Congressman Ro Khanna is warning of widespread layoffs in the United States due to Trump’s poor economic policies. More than 4,000 factory workers lost their employment due to layoffs or facility closures.
Taking to X, Representative Khanna posted a slew of other layoffs reported recently as part of Trump’s economic devastation and chaos, as well as conditions that show how vulnerable American workers remain.
“This week, 19 factories had mass layoffs, 15 closed, and 4,134 factory workers across America lost their jobs. Cleveland-Cliffs laid off 1,200 workers in Michigan and Minnesota as they deal with the impact of Trump’s tariffs on steel and auto imports,” he wrote.
This week, 19 factories had mass layoffs, 15 closed, and 4,134 factory workers across America lost their jobs. Cleveland-Cliffs laid off 1,200 workers in Michigan and Minnesota as they deal with the impact of Trump’s tariffs on steel and auto imports. https://t.co/d1VCFwRQh4
— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) April 5, 2025
Further, Khanna catalogued a thread of fresh layoffs affecting workers countrywide and across numerous sectors. He mentioned that tractor manufacturer John Deere laid off 9 workers from its Ankeny, Iowa facility.
Perdue Farms, a poultry distributor, laid off 433 workers in Monterey, Tennessee. He also highlighted that Del Monte Foods, a food processing company in Hannaford, California, cut 378 jobs.
Additionally, brewers have warned that a 25% duty on beer imports to the US might result in 1,00,000 job losses and plant closures in Europe, urging the European Commission to protect them from the levy.
The levy, introduced as part of Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariffs, caught brewers off guard and will hit American importers of European and Mexican beers like Heineken and Corona.
According to Julia Leferman, secretary-general of Brewers of Europe, “We are calling on the commission to use all diplomatic channels and whether through negotiation or retaliation, find a way to de-escalate this tariff in which we have become a collateral victim.”
JPMorgan Chase & Co. also predicted that the US will enter a recession this year, owing primarily to the impact of new tariffs, according to The Hill. In a note to investors, Michael Feroli, JP Morgan’s chief US economist, said that the country’s GDP is likely to contract “under the weight of the tariffs”.
“We now expect real GDP to contract under the weight of the tariffs, and for the full year (4Q/4Q) we now look for real GDP growth of -0.3%, down from 1.3% previously,” Feroli said on Friday, as quoted by Bloomberg.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also voiced concern, stating that the tariffs are likely to hurt the economy more than expected. ’ “While tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation, it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent,” Powell added.
