The Human Resource Implications of Plant Shutdowns

Human resource programs that were developed to serve those displaced by plant closings have been fragmented. Participation rates have been low in placement, job search assistance, relocation, and retraining programs, and results have not been particularly positive. Great emphasis was placed upon serving those in need when programs did develop. The fragmentation characteristic of previous policy—or nonpolicy—seems to have undergone considerable organization and rationalization with the advent of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and the association of several major labor-management displaced worker programs with the federal-state program. This change tends to emphasize placement and to focus upon training exclusively. As a result, not only will disadvantaged workers compete with displaced workers for training resources and jobs, but participation in programs for displaced workers will be encouraged for those who are most advantaged, thus consigning a large number of less-advantaged displaced workers to underemployment, permanent unemployment, and eventual dependence upon income maintenance.