If Governor-elect Scott Walker’s plan to revamp the Department of Commerce is approved, it could put several people at the agency out of work.
The Governor-elect wants to transform the Department into a new Economic Development Corporation, which would focus on bringing jobs to Wisconsin. Walker says additional duties of the Department of Commerce would be shifted to other agencies.
However, there’s no guarantee the over 400 people working at the Department right now would get to keep their jobs. Walker says there would be a process for them to re-apply, and he would want to take essential people along to the new EDC or to handle duties with other agencies.
Walker says the proposal is not about saving the state money. The cost of creating the new agency has not been released, with figures expected when the incoming governor introduces his budget early next year. Walker says though that if the change can save the state money, then that’s a “good thing.”
