TMA to Help Support These Workers by Providing Retraining for Lucrative Careers in Manufacturing
SCHAUMBURG, IL – The Technology & Manufacturing Association’s (TMA) President Patrick Osborne released the following statement responding to Stellantis’ plans announced last week to indefinitely idle the Belvidere Assembly Plant and lay off 1,350 workers:
“A once thriving production plant home to more than 5,000 Illinois workers is now another news story of a business closing its doors and leaving its employees without a way to provide for their families,” Osborne said.
In the Rockford region, the Belvidere Assembly Plant is one of the largest employers and biggest revenue generators for local and county governments. It’s also part of the local communities’ heritage going back to the 1960s. Generations of plant workers produced millions of American-made cars in northern Illinois that were sold and driven around the world.
“Now, because of economic shortfalls that have been exacerbated by high costs and taxes, our state is becoming harder and harder for businesses to operate. This decision by Stellantis should sound alarms in Illinois. Policymakers should be holding emergency meetings, bringing everyone to the table, to determine how we avoid devastating closures like this in the future.
“In the meantime, TMA will step up and do what we can for these workers and their families. With manufacturing facing severe skilled worker shortages, we’re already talking to our local partners about how we can help retrain these workers to provide them career opportunities with manufacturers in the Rockford area,” Osborne said.
More about the Technology & Manufacturing Association at www.tmaIllinois.org
