Sen. Bernie Sanders says more than 300 IBM workers laid off last year at the company’s Vermont facilities are eligible for additional training and employment services.
The Trade Adjustment Assistance is available to workers the U.S. Department of Labor considers displaced by foreign competition or because jobs were moved overseas.
Previously 115 workers who were part of the same round of layoffs had been deemed eligible for the benefits, but the state subsequently requested that all of the former IBM employees qualify for the benefits.
Sanders says additionally, many Vermont IBM workers laid off last month will be eligible for the benefits. It’s believed about 140 employees were affected by the February cuts, but the precise figure won’t be known until the end of March.
Trade Adjustment Assistance includes:
- Up to 130 weeks of job training.
- Extended unemployment benefits for workers in full-time job training programs.
- Wage subsidies for workers over 50 years old re-employed in jobs paying less than $50,000.
- Health insurance tax credits.
- Reimbursements for moving costs if a job is in a different location.
- Job search reimbursements.
