Plant Closings and Layoffs: Long-term Recovery Strategies

As the immediate needs of your community and dislocated workers are addressed, it is essential to plan for the long-term economic health of your community.

As the immediate needs of your community and dislocated workers are addressed, it is essential to plan for the long-term economic health of your community.

• A good place to begin a recovery plan is to assess your community's current situation. The purpose of a community assessment is to help you analyze your community's strengths and weaknesses before you develop a plan to improve economic development opportunities in your community. It is a list of activities and conditions over which you may or may not have some level of control. When completed, your answers will be a reflection of your community's readiness to retain existing businesses, to attract new businesses and residents, and to grow small businesses within your community. You may also want to complete a Community Economic Analysis to determine current economic conditions and trends in your community.

• After the assessment and/or analysis is complete, your community may decide to undertake a strategic planning process to identify economic development goals and objectives. This process will allow your community to develop an appropriate mix of economic development strategies tailored to meet your community's goals. Typical business development strategies may include retention and expansion, entrepreneurship and attraction, as well as other activities that encourage job creation and private investment such as downtown revitalization or tourism development.

• Business retention activities provide a foundation for a community's economic development activity. Are any businesses in your community experiencing difficulties? Do you regularly meet with key businesses in your community? Often there are warning signs prior to an announcement of a plant closing or layoff.

• If you have not recently met with businesses in your community, you may want to consider the Department of Commerce Wisconsin Business Retention and Expansion Survey Program. The Department partners with local economic development organizations to conduct this program. Through personal interviews with chief executive officers of local businesses, the survey creates a confidential, comprehensive data profile on businesses in the community in order to develop a systematic approach to retention. The data, along with suggestions by employers, can be used to plan and implement sound economic development strategies in a community or county.

• Wisconsin has a number of excellent resources to encourage entrepreneurship and to foster small business development. The Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Network's (WEN's) mission is to create seamless access to entrepreneurial resources and expertise from across Wisconsin. WEN offers two grant programs to assist current and prospective business owners with business plan development. The Entrepreneurial Training Grant Program  (ETP) is a course offered through the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) providing prospective and existing business owners with expert guidance through business plan development. The Early Planning Grant Program is designed to help individual entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout Wisconsin obtain the professional services necessary to evaluate the feasibility of a proposed start-up or expansion. Under the EPG program, the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Network, with funding from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, can provide applicants with a grant to cover a portion of the cost of hiring an independent third party to develop a comprehensive business plan. Other information on starting a business can also be found on Commerce's website. 

• Commerce's Area Development Managers assist business prospects with site searches and work directly with communities interested in attracting new businesses to their communities. Forward Wisconsin works with out-of -state prospects, sponsors call trips to visit businesses in other states, and participates in industry trade shows. There are opportunities for local economic development professionals to participate in these activities (Go Back to Layoff Menu).