Travel ban stirs corporate outcry across the US
NEW YORK/BOSTON: Most US corporate bosses have stayed silent on President Donald Trump’s immigration curbs, underscoring the sensitivities around opposing policies that could provoke a backlash from the White House.
While the leaders of Apple Inc, Google and Facebook Inc emailed their staff to denounce the suspension of the US refugee programme and the halting of arrivals from seven Muslim-majority countries, many of their counterparts in other industries either declined comment or responded with company statements reiterating their commitment to diversity.
The difference in response shows the pressure large swathes of corporate America faces to avoid tussling publicly with the new administration.
Companies such as aircraft maker Boeing Co and automakers Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co have already had run-ins with Trump over other issues, and they have much at stake in policy decisions that the administration will make on tax, trade and regulatory matters.
Before office, Trump attacked Boeing over the cost of the future Air Force One programme. Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg met with him earlier this month and said he and Trump had made progress on the Air Force One issue and the potential sale of fighter aircraft.
Representatives from Boeing, General Motors and Ford declined to comment on Trump’s immigration curbs.
Wall Street, meanwhile, is hoping the new administration will ease some of the regulations introduced in the wake of the 2007-08 financial crisis and adopt a lighter touch in their enforcement.
Industries including banking, healthcare and auto manufacturing “see themselves on the cusp of a new era of deregulation, and they do not want to do anything that would offend the new emperor,” said Cornelius Hurley, director of Boston University’s Center for Finance, Law & Policy.
Trump had targeted both the tech industry and Wall Street during his presidential campaign, but once elected, he tapped former investment bankers, hedge fund managers and private equity investors to join his administration.
With friends in high places, Wall Street may have less reason to be as outspoken about the new restrictions.
“Bankers have direct access to this White House,” said Erik Gordon, who teaches at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “They don’t have to protest publicly.”
Representatives of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley declined to comment on Trump’s immigration order.
Wells Fargo & Co said in a statement that it was reviewing the executive order and its implications for staff and its business.
JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Operating Committee, which includes CEO Jamie Dimon, sent a note to staff saying it was reaching out to all employees affected and noted that the country was, “strengthened by the rich diversity of the world around us.” — Reuters