Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., in an interview Thursday dismissed the sharp criticism of General Motors from President Trump and others, saying the automaker is responding to competitive pressure and taking steps to ensure its viability long term.
Trump and many in Congress have tried to browbeat GM into reversing a controversial decision to shutter plants in Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio, a move that could eliminate thousands of jobs. The Detroit manufacturer is casting blame on an array of factors, particularly shifting consumer tastes that have significantly reduced demand for the automobiles produced in the affected facilities.
But Perdue, a Georgia Republican who spent a career in business management before being elected to the Senate in 2014, said the attacks on GM are misplaced. Perdue discussed the matter during a wide-ranging interview with “Behind Closed Doors,” a Washington Examiner podcast.
“I get upset with people in Washington who try and make this a binary question, and it’s not, it is extremely complicated. There are industries that close factories and open factories every day,” Perdue said. “Industries do that. In some cases it’s because of bad management, in most cases it’s because they’re trying to adapt to the marketplace and to survive.”
[Related: Washington backlash tests GM’s resolve on factory closings, layoffs]
Perdue was careful not to criticize Trump by name. Trump was a real estate developer and reality television star before running for president, running his own tight-knit family business, and he and Perdue are aligned on most issues. But the senator said that many of the politicians bashing GM appear not to understand how businesses operate and the consequences of failing to adjust to the marketplace.
“I don’t know the details of the decision that GM is making. But having been in that seat, I can tell you that they’re fighting for one thing, and that is survival,” Perdue added. “It’s not just the shareholders that they’re trying to protect, it’s not just the bondholders they’re trying to protect, they’re trying to protect their employee base — the majority of employees — and to be able to survive to meet the needs of those customers. So it’s a complex situation.”
Mary Barra, CEO of GM, is on Capitol Hill this week meeting with lawmakers and explaining the automaker’s position. Democrats and Republicans alike are urging Barra to back off plans to close plants and chop its workforce.
Perdue, 68, has operated firms around the globe and specialized in strengthening flagging businesses. That often required making tough choices.
In his last position before going into politics, the senator revived Dollar General, a discount retail chain. When Perdue took over as CEO, the company was struggling. Hundreds of stores were severely underperforming, putting Dollar General in danger of going out of business. So Perdue closed them, displacing scores of workers. But as the retailer recovered, more than 1,000 new stores were opened, with new jobs created as workers were hired to staff them.
Perdue called the business world the “wild kingdom.”
The “Behind Closed Doors” interview with Perdue will be available for download on Monday.
