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Just in time for the layoffs expected later this month at Kennecott Utah Copper, the state's Department of Workforce Services has introduced a new resource guide to provide Utahns who have lost jobs with all of the contacts they will need to survive a layoff, manage their finances and find new employment.

The new guide is the brainchild of state Sen. Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City, who brought together the DWS, United Way of Salt Lake, the Utah Labor Commission, organized labor and Rio Tinto to develop the "one-stop resource" aimed at helping the unemployed deal with the challenges they may face as a result of their job loss.

"This new guide provides contacts not only for the service we provide, but also for other resources that are available elsewhere" such as food pantries, financial and metal health counseling, said Jon Pierpont, the DWS's executive director.

While Mayne said her efforts at developing the guide were not sparked by the impending layoffs at Kennecott, which are expected to result from a massive landslide on April 10 at the company's Bingham Canyon Mine, she nevertheless expects it will be a big help to those who will soon find themselves on the unemployment rolls.

"This packet isn't just about the expected layoffs at Kennecott. We've seen layoffs at ATK, La-Z-Boy and other employers over the years and those Utahns who were effected all would have benefited from a guide with contact numbers for all the available help, services and programs that are available," Mayne said.

Pierpont said the new publication titled Your One-Stop Resource Guide After a Layoff is now available at all 35 of the DWS's job centers throughout the state.

It also can be found online at http://1.usa.gov/1954WIw.

Earlier this month, Kennecott informed the union that represent 90 percent of the Utah operation's 2,100 employees, that an unspecified number of layoffs will occur sometime later this month.

The labor reduction will cut costs as the mining company repairs the massive mess caused by an April 10 landslide that filled the mine's pit with waste rock 300 feet deep.

The slide is projected to cut mine production in half this year.