Economists say GM layoffs are just the start of fallout from Trumponomics: 'This is the chickens coming home to roost'

When running for president, Donald Trump vowed that no American auto plants would close.

"If I'm elected, you won't lose one plant. You’ll have plants coming into this country," he said at a campaign rally in Michigan in October, 2016. "You’re going to have jobs again, you won’t lose one plant. I promise you. I promise you.”

This week's news that GM is closing plants and laying off 15,000 people as it discontinues several models of car in preparation for the transition to autonomous vehicles has brought those broken promises to the forefront.

But, according to a new NBC News report, these closings are only the beginning as GM alone has lost $1 billion because of Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum.

"They can read the crystal ball and see what's coming," said Robert E. Scott, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. "This is the chickens coming home to roost on the broader Trump economic policies."

Scott said Trump's trade policies make no sense and that his tax cuts have been counterproductive.

"If nothing is done to address the problems created by Trump's budget and failed trade policies, the problem is going to get worse," he said.