Today, the operator of the NUMMI facility, Japanese carmaker Toyota, announced it will provide NUMMI workers with $250 million in funding for "transition support."
"Toyota’s financial support is enabling NUMMI to offer bonuses to salaried and hourly team members who continue to produce quality vehicles for Toyota through 1 April, 2010, when Toyota’s production contract with NUMMI will end," the company said according to just-auto.com.
There's no clear word on how much money will go where, but Toyota says the funding was subject to negotiations between NUMMI and the UAW. Separately, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced earlier this week it will assume responsibility for the underfunded pension plan of the 5,800 employees and retirees from the plant.
"The PBGC will take over the assets and use insurance funds to pay guaranteed benefits earned under the plan, which ends effective March 3, 2010," PBGC said.
"Retirees and beneficiaries will continue to receive their monthly benefit checks without interruption, and other participants will receive their pensions when they are eligible to retire."
According to California leaders, the closure of NUMMI will mean the loss of some 50,000 jobs, both directly from the facility and indirectly from the NUMMI-dependent businesses. The NUMMI closure will mean the largest mass layoff in the current recession.
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