Montana gets federal grant to retrain laid off lumber workers

A grant from the U.S. Department of Labor is providing $2 million to the State of Montana to provide workforce retraining and other services to lumber workers losing their jobs because of the closures of two lumber companies in western Montana.

The U.S. Department of Labor provided the Montana Department of Labor and Industry with the first disbursement of $800,000 on Monday, the governor’s office said, to help workers affected by the pending closures of Pyramid Mountain Lumber, the largest employer in Seeley Lake, and Roseburg Forest Products in Missoula.

“For over a century, the timber industry has been an integral part of the Montana economy, and the loss of these companies is felt across our state,” said Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Sarah Swanson. “Empowering Montanans through work and opportunity is our work at DLI, and with these funds we will help every impacted worker in the region leverage their Montana work ethic, skill up, and reenter the workforce in high wage, high skilled jobs.”