CNBC: Alibaba Aims to Create 1 Million US Jobs in Next 5 Years

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba (Dreamstime)

By Rob Williams | Monday, 09 Jan 2017 12:18 PM

Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., on Monday met with president-elect Donald Trump to talk about a plan to create 1 million U.S. jobs in the next five years.

The meeting at Trump Tower in New York included a discussion on Alibaba’s U.S. expansion plans, according to spokespeople for both Alibaba and Trump cited by news channel CNBC.

Alibaba is the latest company that has pledged to create U.S. jobs since Trump was elected on a platform to make the country more hospitable to economic growth. The Republican candidate also criticized trade deals with China for being harmful to U.S. factory workers.

Ma spoke to reporters after the meeting and said China and the U.S. should have more friendly relations.

Alibaba’s job plans follow those by carmaker Fiat Chrysler, which last week said it will invest $1 billion in Michigan and Ohio plants, adding 2,000 workers. Ford reversed a plan to invest $1.6 billion in Mexico, while Japanese tech giant Softbank repeated its plans to create 50,000 U.S. jobs after meeting with Trump.

Alibaba, which has come under fire from U.S. regulators for selling counterfeit goods, last week sued two alleged makers of fake Swarovski products in an effort to crack down on knock-offs.

Alibaba rose 1.1 percent to $94.89 a share by noon on Monday. The stock has risen 34 percent in the past 12 months, but has failed to regain its peak from more than two years ago.