Plymouth workers eligible for federal job aid

Some 60 workers at a Plymouth machine shop who will lose their jobs by year end are among 5,500 Americans in 16 states eligible for federal job assistance because their jobs are moving overseas, the federal government said today.

The U.S. Labor Department said employees at the Iseli Co. division of Danaher Tool Group can apply retraining and other benefits under the federal Re-employment Trade Adjustment Assistance program.

Workers who lost their jobs on or after Sept. 9, 2008 or were threatened with loss of their jobs on or after Oct. 27, 2009 are eligible for the program, the labor agency said. Eligibility expires on Oct. 27, 2011.

The Waterbury-Republican reported in September that Danaher planned to shut by year end its 90,000-square-foot Iseli facility at 651 Greystone Road in the Terryville section of Plymouth.

The 63-year-old company, started in its founder's home basement, makes miniature components for electronics, automotive, medical and other industries.