384 Jobs Saved: Cantwell Announces $8.3 Million to Protect Pierce County Aviation Manufacturing Jobs

Through three rounds of funding, 6 Pierce County aviation manufacturers have received grants in Cantwell-championed program

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced that 384 critical, high-skilled supply chain jobs in Pierce County are safe thanks to the Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Program (AMJP).  

Today, the third round of funding hits the bank accounts of Washington aviation businesses.

Statewide, through all three rounds of AMJP a total of $57.2 million in grants have now been awarded to 68 Washington state aviation manufacturers, estimated to protect 3,150 aerospace jobs. Senator Cantwell led the effort to secure funding for the AMJP in the March 2021 American Rescue Plan.  

"Once high-skilled jobs leave a community, it’s not easy to get them back," said Senator Cantwell. "Supporting aerospace manufacturing employers during an unprecedented aviation industry slowdown is not only the right thing to do, it's the best way to keep local economies diverse and thriving."

In total, $8,348,836 was awarded to 6 Pierce County aviation businesses and saved a total of 384 high-skilled jobs in Tacoma, Fife, Sumner, and Bonney Lake. (Full list below.)

Today’s award follows Senator Cantwell’s September and November announcements for the first and second rounds of AMJP funding. In February 2021, Cantwell spoke on the Senate floor about the importance of including this funding for the aviation sector to prevent further job loss and emphasized its significance for Washington state’s workforce, “We have to continue to focus on our airline sector, which is basically about 5% of our GDP. We need to focus on aviation manufacturing.”

The health of the aerospace supply chain is critical to the U.S. aviation industry as a whole. Nationwide, pre-pandemic levels showed the aerospace industry employed about 2.19 million jobs with 58% attributed to supply chain jobs. Prior to COVID-19, Washington state supported 130,000 direct aerospace employees and produced 1,400 aircraft and unmanned aerial systems, accounting for more than $50 billion product exports annually.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the aviation manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul industries. More than 100,000 supply chain jobs have already been lost since the outbreak of the pandemic, including 30,000 jobs in Washington State.

The Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Program will support this critical workforce through grants to retain, rehire or recall skilled employees.

Last March, Cantwell wrote Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asking the agency to quickly implement the program. In June and again in July, Senator Cantwell urged Washington state aerospace manufacturers to retain their employees by applying to the AMJP program before the application deadline.

Pierce County AMJP Awardees:

A list of all Washington state 1^st round grant recipients can be found HERE.

A list of all Washington state 2^nd round grant recipients can be found HERE.

A list of all AMJP recipients can be found HERE.

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