A proposed wind turbine blade plant in Sioux City, Iowa is getting some help from that state’s economic development board.
The Des Moines Register reports that the Iowa Economic Development Board gave TPI Composites approval to build a new blade manufacturing plant, while Sioux City will get a $2.5 million forgivable loan to improve a road running along the proposed 40-acre TPI site:
Arizona-based TPI Composites says the proposed $38.6 million project would employ 500 workers.
The ability of TPI to create the jobs pledged to the state came into question Wednesday, when the company said it was cutting its Newton workforce to 233 workers. The company did not disclose how many workers were getting laid off.
The company said it plans to “rehire and raise the work force to 400 by October and 500 by February.”
State documents show the company has until July 30 to create 504 jobs in Newton. As of June 30, the company told the state it had created 286 jobs in Newton. The state provided $2 million in incentives for the Newton plant, which opened in 2008.
Board member Toby Shine said he believed the company would seek more time to hit its job-creation goals in Newton.
The board is also giving TPI nearly $500,000 in tax credits, and the city and state are considering more than $2.2 million in job-training assistance for workers at the new plant.