Meeting Set to Assist Displaced Manchester Metals Workers

The coalition hopes to attract 100 employers.

Officials in northeast Indiana are working to assist nearly 100 employees of Manchester Metals Inc. in North Manchester who were suddenly laid off April 25. Northeast Indiana Works will this week hold a rapid response meeting to provide information to help the affected employees move forward.

Manchester Metals has not publicly released any information related to the closure of its iron castings facility. WANE-TV in Fort Wayne reports the employees were informed of the closure during an afternoon meeting Wednesday, which was their last day of employment.

The rapid response meeting is scheduled for May 2 and 9:30 a.m. at the Manchester Community Schools Administration Building, located at 404 West 4th Street in North Manchester. Officials from Northeast Indiana Works, Grow Wabash County and the town of North Manchester will be on hand to give information on job searching, career counseling, employment and training/education opportunities, and unemployment insurance.

"We are all committed to ensuring that former Manchester Metals workers have every opportunity to prosper under challenging circumstances,"
said North Manchester Town Manager Adam Penrod. "It is encouraging to see people working together for the common good of communities. We are optimistic there will be some positive outcomes from this."

Wabash County-based employers with open positions are being encouraged to attend the meeting, give one-minute overviews of their companies and stay to field inquiries from attendees.