Trump-voting swing state whacked with job losses from president’s economy

A worker uses a hoist to move components along the production line for the Qashqai model car at the Nissan car factory in Sunderland, Britain, December 16, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

The state of Wisconsin is down nearly 3,000 employed workers compared to this time last year. And now companies are announcing that even more jobs are headed to the can thanks to President Donald Trump’s spotty economy, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“The factors that are impacting the national economy are definitely what are impacting us here. We’ve got tariffs and other contributors to higher prices, the war in Iran definitely impacting gas prices as well,” said Scott Hodek, economist with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

Four companies filed layoff notices impacting more than 300 workers in May, many of them, courtesy of Trump’s stagnating economy. Parkhurst Dining, LLC, which provides the food services to students, faculty and staff at Carthage College will no longer be working with the college after its contract was cancelled, but others like Fiet, which owns Cree Lighting, have closed its facility due to stress factors from the Trump economy.

Layoffs started on or around May 15,” reports the Sentinel. According to the letter the company sent to the DWD on May 14, it said “sudden, unexpected events outside of Cree Lighting’s control have necessitated further employment losses since March 2026.”

The company was already suffering months of rolling employee furloughs after Trump returned to the White House, but it officially shut down its manufacturing operations in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, resulting in 172 layoffs in March. New closings this month at its facility at 9201 Washington Ave. are impacting still more workers.

“Cell.Plus, LLC, which is owned by US Cellular, is planning to close stores in Richland, Baraboo, Wisconsin Dells, Spring Green, Reedsburg, Black River Falls, Mauston, La Crosse, Holmen, Sparta, Viroqua, and Adams. The decision impacts 66 workers and layoffs are expected to begin on July 31,” reports the Sentinel.

And then there’s Henkel US Operations Corp, which is owned by German company Henkel KGaA, which is planning to shut down its facility located at 420 West Marquette Avenue, Oak Creek on or about September 28, 2026. That decision, reports the Sentinel, is impacting an additional 57 workers.

The Trump economy was claiming corporate heads last year, even before he launched his war in Iran, primarily due to his extreme tariffs hiking production costs and forcing companies to eat the losses to keep U.S. consumers buying.

The one-two punch of both lingering tariff damage and increased fuel prices are forcinf many Americans to tighten their belts, which is, in turn, sending many companies into the red.

“We’ve seen some deceleration in growth in the national economy and that will, of course, impact Wisconsin’s economy as well,” said Hodek.

Wisconsin voters sent Trump to the White House in 2024.

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