CAMDEN – The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration has certified Trade Adjustment Assistance for the employees of IntriCon Tibbetts Corp.

The Minnesota-based owner of the company recently announced plans to reduce operations in Camden and transfer a number of manufacturing jobs to Singapore. Those who lost work are eligible for the benefits, which include employment services and training and job search allowances, according to a joint press release from U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins, R-Maine.

“As IntriCon shifts more of its production overseas, the company’s Camden plant has been forced to lay off a number of its employees, including a large contingent of workers over the age of 50,” Snowe and Collins said in the statement. “The loss of employment in the midst of an economic downturn is a devastating reality and these TAA benefits will help the displaced workers find new employment so that they can reclaim their livelihoods.”

Trade Adjustment Assistance is a program of the Department of Labor that helps workers who have lost their jobs as a result of increased imports or a shift of production outside of the United States. TAA provides these trade-affected workers with a variety of employment services and benefits to help them find new jobs and get back to work.