Labor Department announces retraining program for auto industry layoffs

KEN THOMAS

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Some auto workers facing layoffs in five states will be able to access $3,000 a year to pay for retraining under a program announced Thursday by the Labor Department.

The demonstration program, targeting job reductions and plant closures announced by General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., will help between 2,500 and 4,000 people who have worked for automakers, auto suppliers and others affected by industry plant closings in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio.

"We owe it to them to help them get relevant skills training so they can get a good-paying job in a high-growth industry," Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said.

Chao denied political motives for the announcement, which was made less than two weeks before the midterm elections and on a day when President Bush was headlining a Republican fundraiser in Michigan.

Chao said the five states had asked to be included in the program, which has been under development since January.

Detroit-based GM announced last year that it was closing 12 plants by 2008, and about 35,000 hourly workers have agreed to retire early or accept a buyout. Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford is closing 16 plants - it has identified nine to be shuttered through 2008 - and is expected to slash about 30,000 hourly jobs by the end of 2008.

Displaced workers will able to access the $3,000 career advancement accounts through their state work force offices or the Labor Department's One-Stop Career Centers across the country, Chao said.

The money can be used for tuition, books and fees for retraining in new careers in sectors such as life sciences, biotechnology and health care, "empowering workers to have greater control over their own training experience," she said.

Each state will be eligible for $1.5 million in grants, supported by state matches of the same amount. Individual workers will be eligible to renew the $3,000 grant for a second year.

Three states - Indiana, Pennsylvania and Wyoming - will conduct statewide pilot programs using the retraining accounts.

Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, called the program a "good first step" and said they were pleased "that the Bush administration has heard the call for help and now we hope that the president will start enforcing trade agreements which will benefit the auto industry."

The Central Georgian, 2006, Disclaimer..