Hanesbrands is closing a plant in Mount Airy, NC that made Hanes and Champion socks. Approximately 220 employees will be impacted, according to a statement.
Jobs will be transferred to its operations in El Salvador, which had recently lost some of its work to Asian manufacturers.
Hanesbrands will offer jobs within the company’s nearby distribution center operations to displaced employees who might be interested. The nearest such facility is in Rural Hall, about 30 miles south of Mount Airy. The company also operates distribution centers in Winston-Salem and High Point, as well as elsewhere in North Carolina and Virginia. The plant will phase out production out starting in May and ending in October.
“We have done all that we can over the years to keep our Mount Airy facility competitive in the global sock manufacturing industry,” said Mike Faircloth, president of the global supply chain, information technology and e-commerce for Hanes. “Unfortunately, the higher costs of raw materials, including polyester, in the Western Hemisphere, necessitate that we realign our global sock manufacturing.
“We have a great workforce and management team at the plant who have been instrumental in keeping the facility for four decades. We regret the need to close the facility, and we hope to mitigate the impact by placing as many employees who want jobs in our distribution centers.”
The company plans to eventually sell the 212,000-square-foot plant at 645 W. Pine St., which began operations in 1979.
