Hanesbrands Eliminating 5,300 Jobs

Published: Jun 28, 2007

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Hanesbrands Inc. will cut 5,300 jobs, or 11 percent of its work force, and close nine sewing and assembly operations as it moves production to lower-cost sites in Asia and Central America.

The underwear and apparel maker said Wednesday it will close plants affecting nearly 5,000 employees in Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Another 350 management and administration positions will be cut, mostly in the United States.

The Winston-Salem-based company said the cuts, which will cost about $42 million, are a part of an ongoing restructuring effort to make its business leaner and more profitable.

The bulk of the layoffs will be in the Dominican Republic, where 2,500 jobs will be eliminated, and in Mexico, where about 2,200 workers will lose their jobs. Another 70 jobs will be cut at the U.S. plant in Statesville, N.C.

Hanesbrands employs about 47,000 people. The company said it has added or will add almost 3,000 positions at other company manufacturing plants to absorb the production changes.

The $42 million restructuring costs mainly will come in the fiscal second quarter. The rest will be taken in the second half of the fiscal year, it said.

The charges, plus restructuring charges of $74 million announced earlier, represent nearly half of the approximately $250 million in restructuring charges the company expects to incur in the three years after its spinoff from Sara Lee Corp.

The latest plant closures follow an announcement in May that the company will cut 1,400 jobs and close three sewing and assembly operations in the Dominican Republic.

Since its 2006 spinoff, the company has said it is closing nearly a dozen manufacturing facilities in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States.