• Billionaire John Paulson's Conn Selmer plans to close its Eastlake, Ohio plant by June 30 and move tuba, sousaphone and French horn production to China
• Paulson publicly advocated for tariffs to protect American manufacturing on CNBC in 2024 while raising $50.5 million for Trump's presidential campaign
• UAW Local 2359 workers held a "Save Our Plant" rally in February after the company refused to negotiate a new contract and instead announced the closure

EASTLAKE, OH (TDR) — Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson — one of President Donald Trump's earliest and most prolific Wall Street backers — is planning to shutter the last American-made brass instrument factory in Ohio and move production to China, despite spending the last year publicly championing tariffs and domestic manufacturing on national television.

The decision to close Conn Selmer's Eastlake plant — affecting 150 union jobs at the largest band and orchestra instrument manufacturer in the United States — landed on Jan. 7, the exact day workers expected to begin negotiating a new five-year contract. Instead of opening talks, management delivered a presentation explaining why the plant needed to go.

"We came in with a full proposal, fully prepared to bargain, and they started off with a presentation of telling us how bad we were doing." — Robert Hines, president of UAW Local 2359 and plant worker, to The Guardian

Paulson's Pro-Tariff Rhetoric vs. Offshoring Reality

The contradiction between Paulson's public statements and private business decisions sits at the heart of this story. In a September 2024 appearance on CNBC's "Money Movers", Paulson argued the United States needed "strategic tariffs" to protect domestic industry and reduce the trade deficit. During that same interview, he specifically addressed companies that offshore American jobs.

"We can't have American producers closing American factories and offshoring. We need to protect American jobs and protect American manufacturing." — John Paulson, CNBC appearance, September 2024

He went further on CNBC's "Squawk Box," calling out companies relocating to take advantage of cheaper foreign labor as exactly the kind of behavior tariffs should discourage.

"We want to keep American companies manufacturing in the U.S. And if they're going to close U.S. factories, to relocate abroad, particularly in Mexico, take advantage of their cheap labor, fire American workers — that's not a policy that Trump wants to support." — John Paulson, CNBC "Squawk Box"

Less than four months after those statements, Conn Selmer — a subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments, which Paulson's firm acquired in a $512 million deal in 2013 — told its Ohio workers the Eastlake factory would close by June 30, 2026. The company had already established a production operation in Qidong, China in 2024, setting the groundwork for the move.

Workers Call Closure "A Slap in Every American's Face"

Robert Hines, the UAW local president who has worked at the plant since 2016, did not mince words about the disconnect between Paulson's television appearances and the reality facing his members.

"To go publicly on CNBC to support the Trump administration's positive views on tariffs and all that stuff, and then you turn around and want to go send the work right over to China ... it's a slap in our face." — Robert Hines, UAW Local 2359 president

Hines told reporters the company indicated the Eastlake facility lost $6 million in 2025 and could generate $7 million by relocating operations. Workers were told they could accept wage cuts under a 14-day response window, but the union argued the company never seriously entertained alternatives.

"Basically told us ... we'll pay the tariff, we don't mind. We don't care. They'll eat the cost and ship the work overseas. So, I think that's a slap in every American's face, honestly." — Robert Hines, to News 5 Cleveland

Former union president Joe Manni, a longtime Conn Selmer employee, recalled a conversation with Paulson years earlier that now feels hollow.

"When I met the owner of the company a few years back, I had one question for him, just one question. I said, 'Is your plan to keep this an American made, American instrument company?' He said 'yes.' I said, 'that's all I needed to know' — and here we are today." — Joe Manni, former UAW Local 2359 president, Fox 8 Cleveland

Quality Inspector Sherri Pongtornwatzhakorn, a 14-year veteran of the plant, captured the human toll.

"Maybe this'll weigh heavy on corporate's heart, the president's heart, the owner's heart. And see what devastation they're causing 150 families that don't deserve it."

— Sherri Pongtornwatzhakorn, Conn Selmer quality inspector

Conn Selmer's Defense: Competitiveness and Consolidation

The company has framed the closure differently than workers describe it. In an official statement posted on its website, Conn Selmer emphasized consolidation and market realities rather than offshoring.

"The recent tentative decision regarding our Eastlake, Ohio facility will improve our competitiveness and better meet today's market demands, while streamlining our U.S. operations by concentrating professional brass manufacturing in Elkhart, Indiana and percussion manufacturing in Monroe, North Carolina. We remain deeply committed to U.S. manufacturing, as we have been for more than 150 years." — Conn Selmer official statement

The plan calls for transferring professional French horn production to Conn Selmer's non-union facility in Elkhart, Indiana while moving tuba, sousaphone and student-grade French horn production offshore to China. The Elkhart and Monroe, North Carolina facilities — both non-union — are not affected by layoffs.

The company has not returned multiple media requests for comment on the apparent contradiction between Paulson's public advocacy for American manufacturing and the offshoring decision. Paulson and Co. has also not responded to press inquiries.

UAW Fights Back With Rally and Political Pressure

Workers and union leadership are not going quietly. On Feb. 5, UAW Local 2359 held a "Save Our Plant" rally at the Four Points Sheraton Ballroom in Eastlake, attended by UAW Region 2B Director Dave Green, Eastlake Mayor Kevin Kostelnik and Ohio State Rep. Dan Troy, with a video message from UAW President Shawn Fain.

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Green, speaking at the UAW's National CAP Conference in Washington, D.C. days later, called the situation a case study in corporate double standards.

"The epitome of hypocrisy and greed: the owner of Conn-Selmer, billionaire John Paulson, has been on TV talking about bringing jobs back to America. But when it saves him a penny, it's fine to kill those jobs and ship them overseas. The system is broken. We need to fix this broken system." — Dave Green, UAW Region 2B Director

Mayor Kostelnik told the News-Herald he visited the plant the day after the announcement broke and has been in regular contact with company leadership, though details remain limited due to ongoing negotiations.

State Rep. Troy expressed concern about the broader impact on Lake County.

"The closure raises serious concerns about the welfare of these workers, their families and the broader Lake County community. I would hope there is some alternative path forward that can support both the company's future interests and the Eastlake facility's dedicated workforce." — State Rep. Daniel Troy (D-Willowick)

The Bigger Picture: Paulson Ohio Plant China Move and Manufacturing Rhetoric

Paulson's relationship with Trump runs deep. He hosted a $50.5 million fundraiser at his Palm Beach estate during the 2024 campaign — one of the largest single-event hauls in presidential fundraising history. Trump reportedly considered Paulson for Treasury Secretary before Scott Bessent was ultimately chosen. Paulson withdrew his name from consideration, citing "complex financial obligations" — later reported to include a contentious divorce in which his wife accused him of hiding billions.

The UAW's January statement drew the connection explicitly.

"Conn-Selmer is owned by hedge fund billionaire and Trump ally John Paulson who clearly cares more about raking in more cash instead of preserving an American institution. It's an interesting choice to make at a time when politicians across the country, including the President, are calling on corporations to bring manufacturing back to the U.S." — UAW official statement, Jan. 7, 2026

For defenders of tariff policy, the Conn Selmer case illustrates a persistent gap between political rhetoric and corporate behavior. Even with tariffs designed to discourage offshoring, some companies calculate that cheaper production costs abroad still outweigh the tariff penalties — exactly as Hines described when he said the company told workers it would simply absorb the tariff costs.

Research from the Brookings Institution has found that tariffs imposed during Trump's first term actually reduced total manufacturing employment by a net 2.7%, as higher input costs harmed more jobs in downstream industries than were saved in protected sectors. Whether the current tariff structure will produce different results remains a central debate among economists on both sides.

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The Eastlake plant has operated since 1966, producing instruments under brands that include C.G. Conn, King and Holton — names that have been part of American music education for generations. The plant had 334 employees at its peak and was already reduced to 200 workers before the latest announcement. A 2020 COVID-related layoff cut 113 positions.

Color buffer Travis Sarka, who learned about the closure through a text message, summed up the frustration shared by many of his coworkers.

"They want cheap-made product. I understand that they have to make their dollar too, but at the cost of what?" — Travis Sarka, Conn Selmer employee

When a billionaire donor publicly champions tariffs to protect American workers, then offshores his own factory to China, does it expose a fundamental gap between political rhetoric and corporate decision-making — and should tariff policy include mechanisms to hold allies accountable?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from The Guardian's reporting on the Eastlake closure, official statements by Conn Selmer and the UAW, reporting by Crain's Cleveland Business, Fox 8 Cleveland, News 5 Cleveland, The Center Square, and The News-Herald, CNBC coverage of Paulson's tariff advocacy and his withdrawal from Treasury consideration, research from the Brookings Institution on tariffs and manufacturing, UAW coverage of the Save Our Plant rally and the 2026 National CAP Conference, and corporate history from Steinway's acquisition announcement.

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