Economic development group looks to help laid-off Siemens employees

Lee County economic development officials said they have help available for the 130 Siemens employees about to lose their jobs over the next 60 days.

“We will be helping them with resume building as well as career counseling to see what kind of job skills they currently have,” project coordinator Dana Millard said.

Millard said if you’re looking to upskill, they can help with that, too.

“Whether that be going through SCC or other education or going directly into another position similar to what they’re doing now,” she said.

Millard said multiple companies across the region have reached out to them to let them know there are hiring.

“We have several companies that are currently hiring some companies are actually in expansion mode in Lee County,” she said. “We’ve also had a couple of companies reach out from Des Moines county and the surrounding areas that say they want these individuals, there are jobs open and they have positions for them.”

Millard said they’re not worried about workers leaving Lee County, as long as they stay in the area.

“Our main concern is to make sure that these employees get good quality employment in Southeast Iowa,”she said.

Millard said they’ll be reaching out to those interested throughout the week.

“We actually have six different calls set up for all 130 employees for this week starting tomorrow into Friday where we will be giving them the information about counseling or career advice as well as information about unemployment services,” she said.

Millard said the call tomorrow will take place at 10:0 a.m. while the one on Friday will take place at 2:00 p.m..

Officials said for everyone who has lost a job recently, Iowa Works is a one stop shop for unemployment resources.

You can access Iowa Works a www.iowaworks.gov.