Missouri DOL Grants $2.2 Million to Former Hostess Workers
Missouri’s 400 workers who are unemployed after the Hostess closure will have training and education opportunities to aid in their job searches.
Last November’s closure of Hostess brands nationwide resulted in more than just an uncertain future for Twinkies. Hostess going out of business meant about 18,000 people would lose their jobs. The Missouri Department of Labor has done its part to aid the state’s nearly 400 workers who lost their jobs in the closure with a $2,183,749 National Emergency Grant.
These funds will provide training and future employment services to the hundreds of workers at the 39 different work sites state-wide. In addition to helping Missouri workers, the more than $2 million grant will also aid workers in three Kansas Hostess locations and one site in Oklahoma.
Workers will have the opportunity to benefit from Trade Adjustment Assistance, a program that provides education and training to unemployed workers, buildings resumes and skillsets to find new jobs.
Initially, more than $1.2 million will be released until the state government can demonstrate a continued need for the funds.
For more information on the National Emergency Grants, including guidelines for eligibility, visit the DOL website.