The United States Department of Transportation announced on February 11 that it would be allocating an additional $69 million towards aviation manufacturing. This money is provided by the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan to assist with aviation repair businesses and production.
The Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Program (AMJP) is intended to protect 31,000 manufacturing jobs across forty-three states and Puerto Rico. The AMJP was created to ensure the aviation manufacturing workforce was kept intact despite the decline in air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is the third round of funding under the AMJP program, bringing the total amount allocated to the industry to $673 million. Previous allocations were announced in September 2021 and November 2021.
“The aviation industry was hit hard by the pandemic, and we have taken action to support and protect the jobs of aviation manufacturing workers,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “The critical American Rescue Plan funding announced today is protecting tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs, supporting hundreds of small businesses, and helping keep America’s aviation industry strong as it continues its robust recovery.”
Out of the 593 companies receiving funds from the program, 393 of them are smaller businesses with fewer than 100 employees, and 498 of them had fewer than 250 employees. According to the press release, the Department of Transportation used a broad range of strategies to contact potentially eligible businesses to layout the application process and eligibility rules.
AMJP funds can be used to pay up to half of the payroll costs for employees engaged in aviation manufacturing or repair for up to six months. Recipient businesses must make several commitments in return, including not involuntarily laying off or furloughing employees within that group receiving AMJP payroll support.
In January 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14002, Economic Relief Related to the COVID 19 Pandemic, in an effort to provide relief to individuals, families, and small businesses as well as state, local, tribal, and territorial governments.
