PIC GRANT: $475,000 TO ASSIST 140 LAID-OFF WORKERS

The Southeast Missouri Private Industry Council will receive a $475,000 grant to help workers laid off by the closing of two businesses in Southeast Missouri.

U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman announced the grant Thursday.

As many as 140 of the 245 laid-off workers are expected to need help finding jobs or getting training for new careers.

When Fleming Co., a food wholesale distributor at Sikeston, closed in March, 175 warehouse workers, truck drivers and others were left without jobs. About 70 people lost jobs when Greenfield Industries, a machine retooling firm in Malden, closed this year.

"We'll be contacting laid-off workers soon," said Ken Boyer, special-projects manager at PIC, which offers immediate worker re-entry programs. "We were hopeful of starting the worker programs earlier, said Boyer.

The money from the U.S. Department of Labor will be used to help workers find new jobs, said Boyer. "That includes training for a new career, on-the-job training and help in relocation to find another job," he said.

The funding also includes money to help in a job search.

PIC estimated the cost at about $3,200 per person, with a cap of $5,200 per person for 142 people, said Boyer.

"If all the funds are not used, they are returned to the federal government," he said.

"Some of the workers go to other jobs," he said. "A few may retire, and some won't participate in the program."

Fleming Co. announced late last year that it would close in February or March. The total number of jobs affected was 500 including those at centers in three other communities.