Hanesbrands Inc. last week said it will close a “high-cost distribution center” in Weston, Fla. and consolidate two other distribution centers currently located in Winston-Salem, N.C., into a third facility close to their new Winston-Salem headquarters. Much of the product distributed through the Florida D.C. will shift to the company’s new California D.C. that was opened in July, its first on the West Coast.

The consolidation will result in the elimination of more than 400,000 leased square feet, but also enables HBI to “better align the company's product flow within its overall global supply chain” in moving distribution to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. The new D.C. there supports the HBI's expanding supply chain in Asia.

HBI will eliminate 79 jobs with the Florida closure, but will not see any reductions from the North Carolina consolidation.

Hanesbrands expects to take restructuring and related charges for the Weston distribution center closure of approximately $8 million, including severance, lease exit, and asset write-off costs. Operations at the 267,000-square-foot distribution center are expected to cease by March 2007.