Here's Proof the GOP Tax Cut Is Already Wreaking Havoc on American Workers

Though their products appear at every stage of life from infancy to old age, thousands of workers at Kimberly-Clark will see their livelihoods cut. Kimberly-Clark, the maker of brands like Huggies, Kotex, Kleenex and Depend, revealed its restructuring plans on January 23, and shamelessly explained the mass job cuts were made possible because of the GOP tax cut.

As part of its 2018 "Global Restructuring Program," between 5,000-5,500 people will lose their jobs, which a Kimberly-Clark statement claims is “12 to 13 percent of current headcount.” According to its website, Kimberly-Clark has 42,000 employees across 35 countries. The New York Times reported that the lay-offs will have a global impact.

Kimberly-Clark’s CFO Maria Henry said during a call Tuesday that the GOP tax cut bill's “cash flow benefits” to the company will assist in paying for the layoffs and that “tax savings would also be used to make capital investments and to ‘allocate significant capital to shareholders,’” according to the Times. 

This was echoed by journalist Nathan Bomey.

While the need for the restructuring may be due to market forces demanding competitive lower prices, and the societal forces of a decreased birth rate in some countries (and thus less demand for some of Kimberly-Clark’s products), the job losses are uniquely tied to the recent GOP tax bill, which provided cuts for corporations.

California Democratic Representative Ted Lieu also commented on the layoffs via Twitter.

Kimberly-Clark also plans to shutter or sell 10 manufacturing plants as part of the restructuring, in an attempt to “generate annual cost savings of $500 to $550 million by the end of 2021.” The restructuring announcement comes in combination with the company's FORCE program (Focused On Reducing Costs Everywhere).