Gildan Activewear Inc. informed employees at its textile facilities at Valleyfield, near Montreal, Quebec, and at Bombay, N.Y., that operations at these facilities will be reduced to a 5-day work week, starting in August 2006. Gildan is currently ramping up a state-of-the-art textile facility in the Dominican Republic to full capacity, and is achieving significant manufacturing efficiencies at this location as the scale of production increases.
The Canadian and U.S. textile facilities will continue to manufacture fabric for fleece and sport shirts, as well as for a T-shirt sewing facility in Mexico. As a result of the reduction of Canadian and U.S. capacity which has already been effected during fiscal 2006 and the further reduction announced today, total annualized production capacity for the Canadian and U.S. textile facilities will amount to approximately 6 million dozens, as previously projected. The Company continues to significantly increase its overall capacity through major new expansions in both its Central American and Caribbean manufacturing hubs, and will continue on an ongoing basis to evaluate the role and global competitiveness of its Canadian and U.S. textile manufacturing facilities within its overall capacity planning to support its growth strategy.
In excess of 60 positions at Valleyfield and Bombay will be eliminated. Gildan is committed to alleviating the impact of this decision on its employees and to facilitating the transition to the maximum extent practical. The restructuring costs expected to be incurred by the Company as a result of today’s announcement will not impact the Company’s EPS guidance for fiscal 2006.
