The U.S. Department of Labor has given an emergency grant to the state of Wisconsin to aid workers affected by the closure of the Kewaunee nuclear plant near Green Bay.
The $807,193 National Emergency Grant is expected to assist about 220 people, the DOL announced in a release Wednesday. Administered by the Bay Area Workforce Development Board, the grant will provide job search assistance, training and other support services to displaced employees.
"These workers have specialized job skills needed in the nuclear power industry, and this federal funding will provide a range of re-employment services and opportunities," Acting Assistant Labor Secretary Eric Seleznow said in the release.
Dominion permanently shut down the reactor on the shore of Lake Michigan in May, leading to the eventual elimination of about 630 jobs. More than 200 workers were dismissed in June, and terminations will continue in smaller numbers through September of 2014, when the plant will cut 293 jobs. Dominion and Xcel Energy, which owns reactors in Minnesota, previously held job fairs for Kewaunee workers. A handful will remain on site long-term as the utility prepares to decommission the plant.