A Woburn-based green tech company that is planning a mass layoff this spring recently declined a nearly $1 million state grant.
The Healey administration on Feb. 11 announced $950,300 in funding for Boston Metal through the Business Builds Capital Grant Program, designed to support companies as they expand or relocate in Massachusetts or create new jobs. Nine days later, Boston Metal alerted the state that it will terminate 71 workers in Woburn in mid-March due to a “critical equipment failure” at its manufacturing facility in Brazil.
Asked whether the grant will be rescinded due to the layoffs, a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Economic Development said Boston Metal has declined the award and that no money was disbursed. The company, which produces steel without carbon emissions and extracts metals from mining waste, has been publicly praised by Gov. Maura Healey as the state invests in the climate tech sector.
Boston Metal had intended to use the grant “to support facility upgrades, which will allow it to recover critical materials at commercial-grade purity and yield while significantly increasing energy efficiency,” the Healey administration said.
EOED has not given any other money or tax incentives to Boston Metal, the spokesperson said.
“We have been in touch with Boston Metal about how we can support affected employees and connect them with available resources,” the spokesperson said. “We remain focused on strengthening Massachusetts’ advanced manufacturing ecosystem and supporting the workers who power it.”