This Clothing Retailer Now Announces Unexpected Layoffs

January 26, 2024

A clothing retailer now announces unexpected layoffs at a major distribution center in South Carolina, affecting more than 100.

Fruit of the Loom, an innerwear and activewear manufacturer, is closing a major location according to the latest WARN filings.

The company laid off a total of 119 employees this week.

The notice references a “permanent closure” at 1116 Business Park Rd. in Summerville, South Carolina.

WARN notices are required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988, and companies with more than 100 workers must disclose planned closings and mass layoffs.

“As a global Company operating in a highly competitive marketplace, Fruit of the Loom, Inc., is constantly analyzing its business to ensure we remain as competitive as possible,” a Fruit of the Loom spokesperson said in an email.

“After an extensive review of our distribution network, the decision was made to close the distribution center in Summerville, South Carolina in support of a consolidation strategy.”

The closing process will take place over several months and be completed by July 1, the spokesperson said.

Headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Fruit of the Loom manufactures and distributes innerwear and activewear and owns brands including Fruit of the Loom, Russell Athletic, Vanity Fair and Spalding brands.

The company employs 27,000 people globally and has production facilities in Australia, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Morocco, Vietnam and the U.S., according to its website.

It’s a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which acquired Fruit of the Loom out of bankruptcy in 2002.

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Also Read: Three Massive Restaurant Chains Now Begin Closing Locations

Other Economy News Today

A massive furniture company now lays off 1,650 employees, which represent approximately 13% of its global workforce.

Wayfair has laid off about 1,650 employees, the company said Friday.

The online home decor retailer said the cuts represent about 19% of its corporate team and 13% of its global workforce.

The move is expected to give the company more than $280 million in annualized cost savings.

About $150 million of that will come from cash compensation savings.

However, the restructuring will likely cost Wayfair approximately $70 million to $80 million in severance and benefits costs, most of which are anticipated to be incurred in the first quarter, reports RetailDive.

While CEO Niraj Shah in an open letter to employees pointed to “many things at the company that are going well,” including gaining share with customers and making progress to operate more efficiently, the retailer has faced challenges.

The company “went overboard” with hiring during the height of the pandemic, when the retailer’s annualized sales doubled to $18 billion from $9 billion as people spent more on their homes, Shah said.

This is Wayfair’s third round of restructuring since the summer of 2022.

The company laid off 870 employees in August of that year.

Last January, a whopping 1,750 people were also let go.

This time, Shah said they decided to err on the side of having too few people versus too many.

“Each time we used our best judgment, identified the cost target we needed to hit, and believed we were resizing to the right point,” Shah said Friday.

“In many ways, having too many great people is worse than having too few.

With too few, you get a lot done quickly, but you may not get everything done that you want.

But having too many causes inefficiency, coordination costs, and investments in lower-return activities.

That is what we have been experiencing and what we need to end.”

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Also Read: A Massive Department Store Now Closes For Good

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