Carrier workers eligible to receive federal assistance

Workers who are losing their jobs because of Carrier Corp.’s decision to move manufacturing operations from Indianapolis to Mexico are eligible to receive federal assistance, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.

Carrier Corp. announced plans in February to relocate Indianapolis production to Mexico over the next three years, resulting in the loss of about 1,400 local jobs.

The labor department said those workers are eligible to receive services under the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA, program. The TAA program is made available to workers who are displaced due to foreign imports or shifts in production out of the country.

The program provides benefits to help unemployed workers prepare for and obtain employment. In addition, weekly trade re-adjustment allowances may be payable to eligible workers following the exhaustion of unemployment insurance benefits.

Workers may also be eligible for a variety of re-employment services, job-search and relocation allowances, health insurance premium assistance, and training. Workers 50 or older may be eligible for Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance, a wage subsidy of 50 percent of the difference between their new salary and old salary, up to $10,000.

Earlier this month, the city of Indianapolis received a $355,000 federal grant to help support workers displaced by Carrier. The grant is from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Agency,