Hanesbrands to cut 5,300 jobs, close 9 facilities in 5 countries

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Associated Press

Hanesbrands to cut 5,300 jobs, close 9 facilities in 5 countries
The Associated Press
Published: June 27, 2007

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Hanesbrands Inc. announced Wednesday it will cut 5,300 jobs and close nine sewing and assembly operations in five countries.

The underwear and apparel maker will close plants affecting nearly 5,000 employees in Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico as it moves production to lower-cost operations in Asia and Central America. Another 350 management and administration positions also will be cut, mostly in the United States.

The Winston-Salem-based company said the closings, which will cost about $42 million (€31 million), are a part of an ongoing restructuring effort to make its business leaner and more profitable.

"These efforts are a competitive necessity to strengthen our overall company and its growth opportunities, but we regret that employees will be affected by losing jobs," said Hanesbrands Chief Executive Richard Noll.



Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/27/business/NA-FIN-COM-US-Hanesbrands-Jobs.php

[AndreaCG]

1. Christ, even Mexico and the Dominican Republic aren't cheap enough!

[KillCapitalism]

43. Nope.

Vietnam and Bangladesh are also getting too expensive for these slave-drivers.

What's left? Africa maybe?

[Captain Hilts]

2. The Prez thinks those workers being better trained will save their jobs. It's a race to the bottom.

[stevedeshazer]

13. Race to the bottom?

Ironic.

Wait to we get on Hanes off you.

[barb162]

23. And we're winning that sick race, aren't we?

[tbyg52]

3. "are a part of an ongoing restructuring effort to make its business leaner and more profitable."

What are they gonna do when they've restructured everyone out of their jobs and there's nobody left to buy their stuff?

[Morgana LaFey]

20. They'll just sell them to the new middle classes in China & India

Your question is what I used to ask myself, until I finally got it. All those wonderful tech jobs are going to India. Remember?

[girl gone mad]

22. The economics of that don't make sense..

the foreign labor pool is making lower wages. Even taking our deflated dollar into account, they won't be able to charge as much for their products.

Outsourcing is corporate short-term thinking at its worst.

[tbyg52]

24. Yeah,

and when those places look like the US did in the 40's and 50's, *we'll* probably be the sweatshop labor of the world. And the cycle will repeat....

[Neshanic]

4. I smell a little ol' company in Bentonville wanting cheaper stuff.

[4_TN_TITANS]

34. I think there's something to that...

My understanding is that to keep their contracts with Walmart, companies are forced to cut their costs by a certain percentage every year. Eventually, outsourcing is the only option left. Or outsourcing again to even cheaper countries.

[Blue Gardener]

5. Despicable

The trade policies in this country have got to change.

[derby378]

6. Try watching THE CORPORATION on DVD

One hint: In America, every corporation is required - by law - to put the financial interests of its owners ahead of all other concerns. Even if one of those concerns happens to be the public good.

[LostinVA]

7. The last nail in the coffin of NC's once thriving textile industry

[noshenanigans]

18. indeed

I grew up in Western NC and if you don't have a college education (and a lot of times even if you do), the "thread plants" were there.. most of them have closed and it's caused so many people to be either unemployed or driving two hours each way for work. Most everyone I know have left these plants for one that makes medical supplies (IV bags and such). If that plant ever closes, a lot of western NC will turn into Flint Michigan after GM was through with it. It scares me.

Edited because GM makes cars and GE makes... everything else.

[Tesha]

27. Ah well, live by undercutting labor elsewhere, die by being undercut by labor elsewhere...

> The last nail in the coffin of NC's once thriving textile industry

Ah well, live by undercutting labor elsewhere, die by
being undercut by labor elsewhere. This is what NC did
to New England when all the textile companies packed up
and away from New England's better-paid union jobs in
favor of "right-to-work" jobs in the South So don't
bother complaining to me now that somebody has done
it right back to NC.

Tesha

[VTMechEngr]

8. Puerto Rico is not a country.

Its part of the US. That said, guess that's another brand I'm going to avoid.

[OldschoolDem]

9. After a while

you might be walking around naked. The US texile industry is deflating fast.

[VTMechEngr]

10. New England gave that industry its Last Rites years ago. n/t

[bettyellen]

11. the South lowballed on wages and took business from the North, now China subcontracts to Vietnam

and Africa is up and coming.

[Captain Hilts]

16. That's right. In the global labor market, undercutting is the game. nt

[Javaman]

33. Read up sometime on the "deal" that was made with Pakistan/Afghanistan

regarding textiles.

It was only a matter of time before U.S. Textiles went belly up.

[AlCzervik]

12. eventually the circle of low cost labor will be moving back here because our wages

will be getting lower and lower.

[DarkTirade]

14. When I learned how to sew

I never thought I'd be comtemplating using that skill to make my own damn clothes instead of just patching up the ones I already have.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

35. My mom sewed a lot.

I've been cleaning out her house and threw away the rotten thread and fabric. However I have four Singer sewing machines, all steel, that will last forever and make beautiful buttonholes with an attachment that uses cams.

I still have lots of perfectly good fabric and plan to make stuff with it after I move up there, due to the lack of jobs in the big city for educated people.

I also have a zillion attachments I need to sell. And lots of patterns. I guess maybe some people still sew if they have time. You can get something unique, and buy your own fabric, and not look like everyone else. And if you can't sew, you can get material and a pattern and go to a tailor.

But sewing your own underwear is pretty ridiculous.

I don't have a job and so my need for respectable looking clothes is nonexistent.

[DarkTirade]

39. Yeah, sewing your own underwear does seem like it goes a bit too far. :)

But I'm sure there was a time when that was common.

[CatholicEdHead]

15. Their standards page is a joke

http://www.hanesbrands.com/hbi/en-us/OurValues/Compliance.htm

• Our Global Business Practices (GBP) employee code of conduct
has been our guiding practice since the 1990s.
• Our Global Standards for Suppliers (GSS), a supplier code of
conduct, has been in place for more than a decade, years longer
than similar codes.
• Hanesbrands was pivotal in the creation of the Worldwide
Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) program in the late
1990s to establish common standards in social compliance.
• Our Global Environmental Management System (GEMS) ensures
smart environmental principles are integrated into our daily
business: waste minimization, resource conservation, minimizing
overall environmental impact, and enhancing value.

[Decruiter]

17. Okay Hanes, we appreciated your bottom line, here is ours. NO MORE HANES, EVER!

At least not in my house, how about the rest of you all. Think we could all send them a loud and clear message? Probably not, they don't need us, here in the US, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic or even Puerto Rico. They've got CHINA AND ASIA!

Go for it Hanes, please do. We'll find someone else, hopefully one day soon when you leave the US in this manner you will no longer be a US Company. May you and all your executives rot in hell!

Find John Perkins newest book, Confessions of an Economic HitMan was his first, he has a new one out now, the name escapes me for the moment, something about Empire.

Growth that is stable, sustainable and with peace, is what he believes will save us all and he is optimistic. It is doable, just probably won't happen in the very near future.

It will come with far too much pain and suffering first. That is the part where my optimism just fades. Remember, Dubya just wants us to take our family to Disneyland and to go shopping so we can just show those terrorists we can't be stopped by their hate.

[lonestarnot]

19. That's funny because yesterday I bought a pair of their pany hose

put them on and they ran for office before I got them out the door. Cheap shit that was $6.00. Not worth a shit! cheap fuckers

[arikara]

21. Now why does that surprise me

As the clothing gets made and sold more and more cheaply, the thread count goes down because the manufacturer has to cut their costs.

The Mr recently bought a pack of McGregor Happy Foot socks which he's been using for years. They have been so cheapened that the socks totally shrunk on the first wash and not only that, when he put one on his foot you could see right through it. I'm taking them back to the store and complaining. They figure because the crap is so cheap that nobody will return it but I always do. I hope you returned your cheap pantyhose too.

[lonestarnot]

28. Time and gas cost more to return them than just shit can them. I should have taken them

back on principle. Maybe I'll recover them today from the can. LOL Here! Here's your crap back. Now give me back my money! :evilgrin:

[Captain Hilts]

26. Stockings are a racket. Planned obsolesence city. A rip off. nt

[lonestarnot]

29. I never wear them, but had to that day, runner and all.

Respect for the Court and all.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

37. I refuse to wear stockings anymore.

They're a communist plot or something.

Too damn hot in the summer, and too cold in the winter.

Living in the steamy South, I just shave my legs and wear nice soft Italian shoes that don't cause blisters.

I can't wear pantyhose anyway. I don't have a waist and they just roll down. The ones with elastic tops are great. But I don't have a job so I have no need to look respectable.

[VTMechEngr]

38. My observation around the office:

is that the dress pants have made them obsolete. Granted I work in a business casual dress code office, which makes life so much better.

[flygal]

42. I just bought some undies from them

and when I opened it I could see through them. I took them back and will look for a more expensive brand that's not mass packaged. They used to be a good brand - what happened?

[Rex_Goodheart]

25. Screw Hanes

Any man who wears briefs or boxer briefs knows that Fruit of the Loom is a superior brand, anyway.

I threw out all my Hanes underwear because my boys didn't feel right.

[VLC98]

30. Where are your FOTL's made?

Mine are made in El Salvador and my husband has some that were made in Honduras. I bought him some Staffords (JC Penney), made in Canada, but he says they're too baggy. I'm not saying I support what Hanes are doing, but I think they tried harder to keep jobs in the US than many other clothing companies.

[Captain Hilts]

31. I wish someone would start making boxer briefs for women...ExOfficio discontinued them.

Damn. I LOVED those things.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

36. Where can you buy American made undies, anyway????

Probably noplace.

[Omaha Steve]

41. Made in the USA underwear

http://www.unionhouse.com/

Reasons to shop from us

Union House welcomes you to our site. We sell Union Made in the USA and Made in the USA Products. We also offer many Items not shown in our online store. We also offer embroidery, screenprinting and banner making services in our Union Shop. Please call at 1-877-462-7710 or email us at [e-mail].

Thank You, The Union House Crew

[Javaman]

32. This is sad. I use only hanes underwear.

However, I will say this, once they switched over to the new "tagless" t-shirts, I noticed a difference in quality. I wrote them a couple of times reporting it, but never got a reply. :(

Still sad to hear about this.

[Shallah Kali]

40. They need to hire more 11 year old Banglideshi wokers for 6 1/2 cents an hour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTIfY9SmJdA

If miss a day or don't meet the quota they are slapped around. But corporations say they are the mistreated ones if anyone tries to stop the import of sweatshop clothing. And too many unthinking or uninformed consumers keep on buying because they can save a few bucks.

Anti-sweatshop legislation re-introduced in the Senate and House
http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=242

For the first time, anti-sweatshop legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Congress which will prohibit the import, export or sale of sweatshop goods in the U.S. Up to this point, it has been the companies that have demanded and won all sorts of enforceable laws--intellectual property and copyright laws backed up by sanctions--to defend their corporate trademarks, labels and products. Yet, the corporations have long said that extending similar laws to protect the human rights of the 16-year-old girl in Bangladesh who sews the garment would be "an impediment to free trade." Under this distorted sense of values, the label is protected, but not the human being, the worker who makes the product.

On January 23, 2007, Senator Byron Dorgan along with co-sponsoring Senators Lindsey Graham, Sherrod Brown, Bernie Sanders, Russell Feingold and Robert Byrd re-introduced the "Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act" which, when passed will prohibit the import, export or sale of sweatshop goods in the U.S. A companion bill introduced in the House last year had 66 co-sponsors.

NLC director Charles Kernaghan testified at a Senate committee hearing on Overseas Sweatshop Abuses, Their Impact on U.S. Workers, and the Need for Anti-Sweatshop Legislation on February 14, 2007. Click here to read his testimony and the testimony of a former sweatshop worker.

On April 23, 2007, Representative Michael Michaud of Maine and Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey re-introduced the companion bill (H.R.1992) in the House.