Electrolux Employees Provided Federal Assistance After Layoff

ST. CLOUD -- Electrolux employees affected by the 2019 closure of the St. Cloud facility will have some additional help once laid off.

The U.S. Department of Labor approved a petition last month for Trade Adjustment Assistance for all impacted workers.

The program provides assistance to laid off workers for companies hurt by foreign trade. Some of the benefits of the program include training, job search allowances, job relocation allowances, trade readjustment allowances, case management and employment services and access to the Health Coverage Tax Credit.

Electrolux has about 900 employees in St. Cloud. The total impact of the facility closure is estimated at a loss of 1,800 jobs in the central Minnesota region, and $102.6 million in labor income.

The freezer producer says they will invest $500 million in two other facilities in Springfield, Tennessee and in Anderson, South Carolina. The Tennessee plant will roughly get $250-million to expand manufacturing operations to include a new line of freestanding cooking products, while the other $250-million will go to expanding the manufacturing processes and add a new range of products.

Construction in Springfield will begin in late 2018 and continue into 2020. Construction in Anderson began last year and is expected to completed in 2019.

According to the city's website, Electrolux is one of St. Cloud's top five employers.