MILAN – State Senator Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) met with Carroll and Gibson County government and Chamber of Commerce leaders on Monday as they worked on plans to secure more than 600 jobs that have been targeted for outsourcing.
“We are fighting a two-front battle by working to save the ammunition jobs while also working with businesses and contractors to grow jobs within the facility,” Finney said.
A federal proposal to move more than 600 jobs from the high-performing Milan arsenal to an Iowa facility by 2012 would cost Tennessee more than $200 million in economic impact. Finney recently toured the arsenal at the invitation of U.S. Senator Bob Corker and Congressman John Tanner, and has worked with Gov. Phil Bredesen in calling for a new environmental assessment to fully examine the impact of the federal proposal.
Meanwhile, Finney is holding discussions with community and business leaders as part of the Milan Arsenal task force to bring new contractors to the facility, regardless of whether the ammunitions operations continue.
“We can’t sit around and wait for the federal government to make a decision,” Finney said. “These jobs are vital to this region, and the impact resulting from their loss would be felt across the state. It’s up to us to keep these jobs at the arsenal and add to them.”