Hanesbrands Inc., the parent of Champion, said it will trim 210 management and corporate positions to reduce costs, and also plans to close a China Grove, N.C., yarn plant by the end of the year, affecting another 185 employees. Hanesbrands has about 48,600 employees worldwide. The company plans to take a charge of about $14 million, mostly in the fourth quarter, for the restructuring.

In a statement, the company said about half of the cutbacks are being made in the company’s supply chain management organization and half in the corporate functions of customer management, finance, human resources, information technology and marketing.

“Given the significant economic uncertainty, we must manage our business conservatively, and we must tightly control costs,” said Hanesbrands CEO Richard A. Noll. “With these actions, we are accelerating our ongoing functional consolidation and conducting additional streamlining. These are difficult but necessary actions that we must take to compete in today’s market environment and emerge as a stronger company. We regret the job losses for our very talented employees and will do everything that we can to assist in their transition.”


Employees affected by the actions will receive severance and outplacement benefits. Of the 210 positions, approximately 155 are located in Winston-Salem, 35 at various other U.S. locations, and 20 at international locations. The company has approximately 48,600 employees worldwide.


The company also announced today that it will close by year end its yarn production plant in China Grove, N.C., as a result of declining needs for higher-end ring-spun yarn used in certain underwear, sock and T-shirt products. The closure will affect 185 employees.


Hanesbrands expects to incur restructuring and related charges of approximately $14 million primarily in the fourth quarter for the plant and job-reduction actions, including severance costs and accelerated depreciation of fixed assets.