President Obama's appointment of GE CEO Jeff Immelt to chair a council on jobs and competitiveness has not met with unanimous approval.  In a statement, Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Executive Director Scott Paul called Immelt a "poor choice."

Paul's disappointment has already been picked up by The Washington Post's Ariana Eunjung Cha.  On the subject of GE's outsourcing, Cha quoted him as saying that Immelt's "policy prescriptions have not been helpful to job creation in the U.S."

Steve Holland at Reuters also referenced Paul's criticism, quoting Paul as saying, "There is no swifter way to alienate working class voters than to name an outsourcing CEO to lead your jobs strategy."

In an interview with ABC News' Rick Klein, Paul added:

Immelt has outsourced a ton of jobs. They've closed -- GE has closed 29 factories in the last two years alone. And if you're trying to send a signal to those white, working-class voters that left the Democratic Party in droves in November, naming one of the country’s leading outsourcers as your chief strategy guy on jobs -- I don't think was the smartest move.

Additionally, the Associated Press' Jim Kuhnhenn recognized AAM's displeasure with the Immelt appointment, saying Paul dismissed Immelt as "an outsourcing CEO" whose appointment would "alienate working class voters."

The Huffington Post's Sam Stein quoted a lengthy discussion with Paul:

I think the challenge with Immelt, and I'm just wondering about the politics of this too, because you have the industrial heartland which is still a battleground, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin. They have all been devastated by manufacturing job loss, and in Jeff Immelt you have a CEO who has supported all of the policies that have led to that devastation.  I think the president has a hard time convincing the American people that having an outsourcing CEO as your key adviser on jobs and competitiveness is going to be a winner for them.

Earlier today, Paul published a front page op-ed in Huffington Post that amplified his concerns about Immelt.  Click here to read the full op-ed.