Trump ends manufacturing jobs council after 8 resign

Roughly 30 minutes after Inge Thulin, 3M's chairman, president and CEO, announced on Twitter that he would step down from the Jobs Manufacturing Initiative, President Trump said he would dissolve the council.

"Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!" Trump tweeted Aug. 16.

The Wall Street Journal reported that  the manufacturing council, and a related group of business executives  advising Trump, both held conference calls late in the morning Aug. 16 and decided to disband.

That apparently happened before the President's twitter announcement, the paper reported.

Thulin announced his resignation from the council at roughly the same time Denise Morrison, Campbell Soup Co. CEO, released a statement saying she would step down.

"I joined the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative in January to advocate for policies that align with our values and encourage even stronger investment and job growth—in order to make the United States stronger, healthier and more prosperous for all people," Thulin's statement, released on Twitter, read. "After careful consideration I believe the initiative is no longer an effective vehicle for 3M to advance these goals."

Thulin and Morrison were the seventh and eighth to step down from the council in the wake of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., and Trump's response to it. Thulin's prepared statement, released on Twitter, did not cite events surrounding Charlottesville as the reason for resignation; Morrison's statement did.

"Racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and are not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in Charlottesville. I believe the President should have been—and still needs to be—unambiguous on that point," Morrison's statement read.

Scott Paul, president of the American Alliance for Manufacturing, and Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, resigned from the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative Aug. 15. Thea Lee, deputy chief of staff for the AFL-CIO, also stepped down that day.

Paul announced via Twitter that he was resigning the council, saying in his tweet that "it's the right thing to do."

Trumka resigned later in the day Aug. 15, tweeting that his resignation was effective immediately.

"I cannot sit on a council for a President that tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism; I resign; effective immediately," Trumka tweeted.

Merck Pharma CEO Ken Frazier was the first to step down from the jobs council after violence erupted in Charlottesville and Trump did not repudiate white supremacist groups that organized the march. Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich resigned shortly after Frazier.

Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of Dow, previously said he would remain on the council, but released a statement condemning "hatred, racism and bigotry."

He released a second statement, this one after the manufacturing council was dissolved, saying that every member on the council condemned racism and bigotry, and that the council could not move forward in the current environment.

Several others who represented companies involved in the rubber industry remained on the council until its dissolution.

Jim Kamsickas, president, CEO and director of Dana Inc., released a statement following Trump announced the council would dissolve.

"At Dana, we are deeply concerned and saddened by the horrific events that occurred in Charlottesville this past weekend. Racism, bigotry, and violence have no place in our society," Kamsickas' statement read.

"As CEO, I will continue to strongly advocate for the important issues of diversity, tolerance, and inclusion."

Doug Oberhelman, former chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc. also remained on the council until its dissolution. Caterpillar released a statement Aug. 16 that read in part:

"At Caterpillar, there is nothing more important than Our Values—at their core we embrace the diversity and inclusion of all of our people. We appreciate and celebrate our differences. Our Values stand in stark contrast to the senseless acts of violence in Virginia. At Caterpillar there is no room for hatred, racism or intolerance."

Rich Kyle, Timken Co. president and CEO, also was on the council when it dissolved. As press time, he had issued no statements through Twitter or on the firm's media relations web pages.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was the first to leave the council, resigning after Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

Mark Fields, former CEO of Ford Motor Co., left the board when he stepped down from his CEO position in May.