The chief financial officer of Stanley Black & Decker Inc. on Friday sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s policy of tariffs, warning that job losses will result.

CFO Donald Allan Jr., speaking to an audience of manufacturing executives and other business representatives at a conference in Trumbull, said tariffs — specifically, a 25-percent levy on steel, aluminum and finished goods and retaliatory tariffs by China — are having an impact on Stanley Black & Decker “in a very significant way.”

“Whether you believe it’s a good thing, whether you believe Trump is playing with China to get them to the table to negotiate something and eventually tariffs will go away or that tariffs will be here forever, whatever you believe, the reality is it’s starting to affect jobs,” he said.

Higher prices resulting from tariffs will force businesses to cut costs, leading to layoffs, Allan said.

“People are going to start losing their jobs as a result of this,” he said. “This is not the right approach.”

Allan spoke about other issues, such as Connecticut’s business climate and weak economy, at the meeting organized by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. He addressed Trump’s trade and tariff policies a day after the New Britain manufacturer of tools and equipment storage equipment pared its 2018 profit guidance partly due to tariffs.