Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

August 26, 2009

Fed $$ coming to laid off workers

By The Mainebiz News Staff

The U.S. Department of Labor is offering federal assistance to laid-off manufacturing workers in central, western and Down East Maine.

The DOL yesterday announced a $316,458 grant to assist about 80 workers affected by layoffs at Formed Fiber Technologies Inc. in Auburn, according to a press release. The grant will be operated by the Central/Western Maine Workforce Investment Board and provide the laid-off workers with access to job skills training, career counseling and skills assessments. Formed Fiber, which manufactures automotive trunk carpets and liners, announced it had laid off 152 workers, or half its work force, in March.

The DOL also announced that workers laid off from NewPage Corp.'s paper mill in Rumford and Fulghum Fibers in Baileyville are now eligible to apply for aid through the department's Trade Adjustment Assistance program. The program provides reemployment services to workers laid off as a result of foreign competition or a shift of production outside the United States, according to a press release. About 130 workers were laid off from the Rumford paper mill in January. Workers at Fulghum Fibers were affected earlier this year by this spring's closure of the Domtar pulp mill, which received most of its wood chips from Fulghum. The Domtar mill has since resumed operations.

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

Comments

Order a PDF