Wednesday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch,” the CEO of U.S. Steel Mario Longhi said after the election of Donald Trump, he has “felt an environment of positive optimism where forces are converging to provide for a better environment,” which he hopes means he can rehire up to 10,000 employees.

Longhi said, “I have not felt an environment of positive optimism where forces are converging to provide for a better environment in quite a while. And this is pretty widespread. Customer suppliers, you know, throughout the communities.”

He added, “I’m more than happy to bring back the employees that we were forced to lay off during the depression … It could be close to 10,000.”

Follow Pam Key On Twitter @pamkeyNEN