Federal government to give $19M in emergency grants to retrain workers at Calif. auto plant

Labor Secretary: $19M in aid for NUMMI workers

FREMONT, Calif. — The federal government is giving more than $19 million in emergency grants to help thousands of autoworkers who lost their jobs when Toyota Motor Corp. closed its California factory.

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Monday that the money will help provide job retraining and other support to more than 4,000 workers who lost jobs when the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant in Fremont shut down in April.

Solis says the money also will help employees of suppliers who lost business when the factory, known as NUMMI, closed.

Some of NUMMI’s former employees are expected to be rehired when the plant reopens as a joint operation between Toyota and electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc.

Tesla plans to use the factory to build an electric sedan scheduled to go on sale in 2012.