GE CEO Jeff Immelt called President Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE’s comments about the turmoil in Charlottesville, Va., “deeply troubling” on Wednesday in a statement about his departure from the president's Manufacturing Advisory Council

Immelt said that he had notified the council of his plans Wednesday morning, before Trump announced that he would be disbanding the council, as well as his Strategy and Policy Forum, in a tweet shortly after noon.

The GE CEO cited Trump’s remarks on Tuesday about the deadly violence in Charlottesville as his reason for leaving the committee. Heather Heyer, 32, died and more than a dozen people were injured when a vehicle was driven through a crowd.

ADVERTISEMENT

“The President’s statements yesterday were deeply troubling,” Immelt said. "There would be no GE without people of all races, religions, genders, and sexual orientations.”

On Tuesday, Trump defended white nationalists in Charlottesville during a press conference, equating the “alt-left” to white supremacist demonstrators.

"You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say it, but I will say it right now," Trump said on Tuesday.

"But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides," he said at another point during a contentious exchange with reporters.

Immelt’s statement reverses his previous commitment to stay on the panel, despite the violence in Charlottesville.

“GE has no tolerance for hate, bigotry or racism, and we strongly condemn the violent extremism in Charlottesville over the weekend” the company said in a statement on Monday, adding though that “it is important for GE to participate in the discussion on how to drive growth and productivity in the U.S.”