Ex-Mitsubishi Workers to Benefit From Job Retraining Grant

A federal job retraining grant of $748,650 was authorized Thursday for more than 300 Santa Ana workers being idled by the movement of a Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics television assembly plant to Mexico.

Mitsubishi, which had assembled big-screen TVs in Santa Ana since 1978, said in January it was closing the plant because it can no longer compete in North America without cutting costs.

The federal retraining money, funneled through the state Employment Development Department, will be used by the Santa Ana City Work Center. Officials at the center said about 50 former Mitsubishi workers already are being retrained for other jobs. The rest of the workers are scheduled for layoffs gradually through the end of the year.

In addition to the federally funded retraining services, career counseling and job search help will be provided to the workers, the state agency said in announcing the allocation of the funds.