According to a White House announcement today, US Steel president and CEO Mario Longhi is included in a group of business leaders that President Donald Trump plans to confer with in his efforts to increase US manufacturing jobs.
The US Department of Labor reported there were 12.3 million manufacturing jobs in December 2016, 1.7 million fewer than there were 10 years ago. The decline is blamed on jobs moving overseas and automation.
In December, Longhi told CNBC that the economic optimism generated by Trump’s election could result in 10,000 laid off steelworkers being called back to their jobs. About 2,000 workers were laid off from US Steel alone in the last few years.
The group of 28 leaders also includes General Electric chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Arconic chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld, and Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky. Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka.