free trade destruction
Levi Strauss to Cut 3,600 Jobs
story.news.yahoo.com
Tue Apr 9, 8:26 AM ET
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer
SAN FRANCISCO - Levi Strauss & Co., whose jeans are an all-American symbol, said Monday it is closing six U.S. plants and eliminating 3,600 jobs as it moves away from the business of actually making the clothes it sells.
The cuts amount to about 22 percent of its work force. The company, whose sales have been sagging, has said it wants to concentrate more on marketing its clothes. "There is no question that we must move away from owned-and-operated plants in the U.S. to remain competitive in our industry," said Philip Marineau, chief executive.
Since 1997, the company had already closed 24 North American plants, shifting the work to cheaper overseas manufacturers and laying off about 13,000 employees. The latest closings, also shifting work overseas, leave only two U.S. plants — a striking retrenchment for a 149-year-old company that used its blue denim jeans popularized by California gold miners to create one of America's best-known brands.
In June, the company will close plants in San Francisco and Blue Ridge, Ga.; in August, plants in Brownsville and San Benito, Texas; and in October, plants in Powell, Tenn., and El Paso, Texas. "It's unfortunate Levi's had to give in to competitive pressure like this," said Bruce Raynor, president of the Union of Needletrades Industrial and Textile Employees that represents workers at four of the factories.
The privately held company said it will continue to operate a sewing plant and a finishing center in San Antonio, though it will cut about 300 jobs there, too. Levi Strauss employs 16,600 people overall. A poor sales start this year put Levi's on track for its sixth consecutive year of declining revenue.
The San Francisco-based company's sales totaled $935.3 million for the three months ended Feb. 24, a 6 percent decline from a year earlier. |
