As both a fund manager and an individual investor, Eric Hovde, the Republican Senate nominee in Wisconsin, put millions of dollars into three companies that shipped jobs out of Wisconsin in favor of cheaper locales.
But prior to entering politics, Hovde invested millions of dollars in firms that laid off hundreds of Wisconsin workers, moving production to Southern states with cheaper labor costs and, in one case, to Mexico.in NCR Corp., which makes ATMs, according to a disclosure Hovde Capital made to the Securities and Exchange Commission at the time.it would close a manufacturing plant in Viroqua, Wisconsin, laying off 81 employees.
And though Briggs & Stratton did not ship the jobs to a production facility overseas, some of the same forces driving outsourcing spurred the company to close the plant:displaced by the Jefferson plant closure were able to access Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits for workers negatively impacted by global trade. The federal government determined some of the layoffs were due to reduced demand for Briggs &Stratton products as a result of competition with foreign imports.
“Sen. Baldwin and her Democrat allies hurt Wisconsin workers every day by supporting policies that increase inflation, raise taxes and make Wisconsin’s business climate worse,” Voelkel continued.“It’s no surprise that a greedy California bank owner like Eric Hovde invested in companies that laid off Wisconsin workers,” Arik Wolk, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin, said in a statement.