State wants money back from GM
Wisconsin state officials continue to review whether any of the $10 million given in grants to General Motors for improvements at its Janesville plant can be recouped.
The car company announced in June that it would close the plant by 2010. Tuesday, it said the closure would come sooner, but did not give a date.
The state has given GM $10 million in three separate grants in the past four years to help with a $175 million plant overhaul and worker training.
The state Department of Administration gave $1 million in 2005 to help offset the cost of buying two more energy-efficient boilers at the plant. The new boilers were expected to help make the plant "more viable for long term operational future," according to documents GM provided the state and obtained by The Associated Press under the freedom of information law.
The contract for that $1 million grant does not include any penalties if the plant closes, according to the documents given to AP.
The Department of Workforce Development gave GM another $1 million for worker training in 2004.
The money "will ensure that company employees will have the necessary skills to stay competitive in the global manufacturing environment," said a letter a DWD official sent to the director of the Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board in 2004.
The terms of that grant also do not include any language about recouping the money should the plant close, according to documents given to AP.
The largest grant, $8 million, came from the Department of Commerce for worker training. Gov. Jim Doyle's office has said that required GM to keep 3,330 workers at the plant through 2010.
But its current workforce is only about 2,500, and the plant is in the midst of a restructuring that will cut that number nearly in half.
The Commerce Department has not provided copies the terms of that grant, although AP requested them in June.
Doyle's spokeswoman Carla Vigue said Tuesday that state officials still believe some money can be recouped, but it is not clear how much. That may not be known until closer to when the plant closes, she said.
Of the $10 million given GM, the company has spent about $9.3 million, the governor's office has said.
State officials continue to work with GM, hoping the auto maker will maintain a presence in Janesville, Vigue said.
