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Federal grant will help displaced Wisconsin auto workers
Published June 22, 2010 - BizTimes Daily
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will receive a federal grant of $5.9 million to retrain displaced auto workers in southeastern Wisconsin and north-central Illinois.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced the Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant for UW-Whitewater to administer the Auto Adjustment Entrepreneurial Support Initiative.
The grant will benefit Rock County, where General Motors Corp. shut down its assembly plant last year, and Kenosha County, where Chrysler is expected to close its engine plant this fall.
"Collaborating across state lines to maximize regional resources in new and innovative ways will help create jobs in this economically-distressed region," Locke said. "This EDA grant will create jobs by supporting a seamless network of regional services and incubator facilities that will accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in emerging green technologies and global commerce, and by providing training in high-skill, high-wage industries."
“Secretary Locke and the U.S. Economic Development Administration have been stalwart supporters of America's auto communities around the country. As the members of the President’s Auto Council heard on our trip to Kenosha and Janesville last week, funding for job creation and business development is the highest priority need. This grant represents a significant investment in these two communities, as well as others in the area dealing with job losses at the regions’ GM and Chrysler plants or at auto suppliers. Helping to support entrepreneurs across this region represents another important step in the Administration’s efforts to promote recovery and help auto workers and their families," said Ed Montgomery, executive director of the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers.
