WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today announced that employees of KIK Custom Products Inc.'s Cumberland plant will be eligible for extra help through the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. This federal program helps laid-off workers whose jobs were lost due to global trade. Displaced KIK employees who are eligible for the program will get federal help with income support and employment re-training in another job or career, among other benefits and services.

On March 24, 2008, KIK, which is headquartered in Canada, announced that it will permanently shut down and close its manufacturing facility in Cumberland, Rhode Island. As a result, approximately 400 full-time employees lost their jobs.

KIK is one of the largest custom manufacturers of both national and retailer brand consumer products. The Cumberland plant is one of five aerosol manufacturing facilities operated by KIK. The company cited foreign competition and a decrease in production demand as reasons for closing the Cumberland plant.

"This federal assistance will provide an extra layer of support for hardworking people who are being laid off through no fault of their own. This is one small piece of good news in an otherwise very difficult time for these workers and their families," said Reed a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and wrote letters to the Secretary of Labor requesting TAA support for these workers. "This kind of aid helps ease the transition for people who have been laid off. TAA allows people to pay their bills while they retrain for new jobs. It is an effective program that quickly gets people off unemployment and back onto the payrolls of other companies."

On June 8, 2008, Reed sent a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor in support of TAA and any other services requested by Rhode Island on behalf of KIK employees who lost their jobs due to this layoff.