Employees To Lose Jobs At Downeast Correctional Center Next Month
With the upcoming closure of the Downeast Correctional Center in Machiasport, the Department of Corrections has informed employees that their last day of employment at the facility will be June 10.
“Funding to operate Downeast Correctional Facility will no longer be available as of June 10; therefore, the facility will be closing at that time," Maine's Corrections Commissioner Dr. Joseph Fitzpatrick, said in a Friday news release. "If the security staff is interested in relocating, the department is willing to work with them to stay employed with the department.”
The facility employs 46 people and holds about 100 inmates who will be moved to other correctional facilities.
Fitzpatrick said the Maine Department of Labor's Rapid Response Team will meet with the employees affected by the closure.
The facility has been considered for closure for years. The release called it "outdated" and "expensive to operate."
The Department of Corrections also has notified the Long Creek Youth Development in South Portland that five educational positions at that facility will be eliminated as of June 10.