NEW: State Offers Help to Employees Laid Off at Defense Firm

NEW: State Offers Help to Employees Laid Off at Defense Firm

The state is offering assistance to employees laid off from a major defense firm today, after its founder was charged in a $10 million kickback scheme.

At Governor Lincoln Chafee’s directive, Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) Executive Director Keith Stokes and Department of Labor & Training (DLT) Director Charlie Fogarty held a media availability today to address the closing of Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow in Middletown.

Over 100 workers are reportedly losing their jobs because of the company’s closing. Stokes and Fogarty discussed the services and benefits that will be supplied to those laid-off.

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“Aquidneck Island’s vibrant defense industry is one of Rhode Island’s great assets and a vital sector of our economy,” Governor Chafee said. “I have directed my administration to take every step possible to provide assistance to the Rhode Islanders affected by this closing and to ensure that they remain employed within the defense industry on Aquidneck Island.”

One of the major projects devoted to helping these workers so far has been the assistance of the DLT’s Rapid Response Unit. It helps inform those recently out-of-work about unemployment insurance benefits, job search and reemployment opportunities, and state and federal funding. The DLT and RIEDC will also be running a jobs search program to get the ASFT employees back to work in the defense sector as quickly as possible.

The layoffs came in the wake of a federal indictment that charges Anjan Dutta-Gupta, the founder and president of Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow, for his alleged role in an estimated $10 million kickback scheme.