White House staff calls BMW Spartanburg plant a ‘scam’

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA)—State and local leaders have been reacting to comments made by a member of the Trump Administration criticizing the BMW manufacturing plant in Spartanburg. 

BMW said that its Spartanburg plant, off Interstate 85, is an 8 million-square-foot facility amid its seventh major expansion.

Officials said that teamwork at their Spartanburg plant has successfully generated nearly $27 billion each year, employing nearly 43,000 people across South Carolina.

“Spartanburg was boarded up,” Greenville County Councilman David Britt said. “Greenville was boarded up. There was no industry. There was no one coming to Spartanburg County.”

Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt, who was instrumental in getting BMW to Spartanburg County, said their footprint was vital to our economy.

BMW said they are the largest automobile exporter by value in the country, with an export value last year of over $10 billion.

“How is that not good for not only South Carolina but America?” Britt asked.

Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing to President Donald Trump, Peter Navarro said on Monday that operations like BMW’s in Spartanburg County don’t work for America, calling it ‘bad for the country’s economics and our national security.’

“He has never stepped foot, I don’t think, in a manufacturing facility,” Britt said. “In fact, if I took him out here at Tindall and said, I want you to help us pour some concrete and build some structural precast items, he probably wouldn’t know the difference between a shovel and a rake.”

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster also disagreed with Navarro. McMaster said BMW has done a lot of good for South Carolina. 

“They have sent the word out around the world that this is a great manufacturing state,” McMaster said. “They trust our people. We train them, and they go to work, and they stay working.”

Britt said that 217 international companies call Spartanburg home, and they have invested almost $90 billion and created more than 100,000 new jobs over the past 30 years.

He offered an invite as he said he was disgusted with Navarro’s comments. 

“I would love for the President to come to Spartanburg and sit right where you are, Taylor, and let me talk about why we have been so successful,” Britt said. “BMW, they are the golden goose that saved South Carolina and the Southeast and put us on the map in the world. That is why all these international companies have come here. They have seen the success of BMW. That is why everyone wants to be here.”

Since 1992, BMW said they have invested nearly $15 billion into their Spartanburg plant, where more than 11,000 associates assemble around 1,500 BMW vehicles daily.