Red Oak Sportswear, the maker of licensed sports apparel in College Station, TX, plans to cut 124 jobs as it winds down operations, according to documents filed with the Texas Workforce Commission. The company, a division of Illinois-based Knights Apparel Inc., ceased operations Jan. 28 with plans to permanently close by the end of March.
Red Oak, according to local Texas newspapers, was required to send a letter to the commission under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The act requires employers to give employees 60-days notice of plant closings and mass layoffs by sending out information to affected workers, the state dislocated worker unit and the appropriate unit of local government.
Knights Apparel in 2005 acquired Red Oak, then the fifth-largest manufacturer of collegiate sports apparel. At the time, Knights said the acquisition provided the company with “direct-to-store” distribution capabilities. Knights Apparel holds license rights for brands such as Starter, Pro Player and NCAA. It also supplies college, NBA, NHL, Dallas Cowboys and Gold's Gym licensed apparel.
