West Virginia will receive another funding boost from the federal government to help with job training and career services for laid-off coal miners.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday that the state will receive up to $7.6 million from a grant program.
Labor Department spokesman Joe Versen says the state will receive an initial amount of $3.2 million. The release date for the remainder of the funding will be determined later.
The announcement came the same day that Patriot Coal announces the permanent layoffs of more than 2,000 workers in West Virginia. And Alpha Natural Resources sent out warn notices to 93 miners in Raleigh County.
It’s the third such grant to the state. WorkForce West Virginia received a $1.8 million grant in 2012 and an additional $5.6 million in 2014. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin says those grants helped retrain nearly 1,000 workers.