DOGE Cuts Impact Job Training, Small Biz Programs in Arizona

Funding cuts at the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Job Corps program are having a real-world impact in Arizona, resulting in the closure of programs to help small businesses and provide vocational training to low-income youth, reports the Phoenix Business Journal. 

The state’s attorney general Kris Mayes said in a statement: “The Trump Administration’s slash-and-burn approach to federal grant funding has left Arizona communities scrambling to pick up the pieces. From infrastructure projects to job training programs to research at our universities, these cuts are devastating and unlawful.”

Among the impacts:

The Arizona MBDA Business Center, which strives to accelerate the growth and competitiveness of small businesses, is set to cease operations on June 30 “following the termination of our federal funding,” according to a message on the center’s website. The future of the program remains uncertain, pending separate litigation.

Other cuts were not explicitly listed in the most recent lawsuit joined by Mayes, including the closure of Jobs Corps programs. Last month, about 143 people were laid off at the Phoenix Jobs Corps Center, along with 124 staffers at a Tucson location of the federally-funded vocational training program for low-income youth.