Jean maker Levi Strauss is
closing down its last three Canadian manufacturing plants as it shifts
production out of North America. It will cost 1,180 people their jobs.
No more Levi Strauss
jeans to be made in Canada (courtesy Levi Strauss)
|
The Canadian division of Levi Strauss said two sewing facilities in
Edmonton and Stoney Creek, Ont., as well as a finishing centre in
Brantford, Ont., will close in March 2004.
Levi Strauss said the closures are part of a continuing shift away from
company-owned manufacturing facilities made necessary to stay competitive.
The company is also shutting its plant in San Antonio, Texas, by the
end of this year, costing about 800 jobs.
When the Canadian and American plants are closed, the company will not
have any of its own North American assembly plants. The work will be
shifted to other sources around the world.
"Moving away from owned-and-operated manufacturing to a broader
sourcing base will strengthen our business by giving us much more
flexibility," Julie Klee, general manager of Levi Strauss' Canadian
operations said.
"It will allow us to use the right sources – with the capabilities and
cost-competitiveness that we need – to get a wider range of products to
market faster," she said.
The company said it will discuss a severance package with unions in the
coming weeks.
Unions reps said the Levis Strauss workers had good benefits and
pension plans, things that the company felt hurt its bottom line.
"You'll see the same styles, you'll see the red tabs, the silver tabs –
their signature lines all those – but none of them will be manufactured in
North America," union representative Alex Dagg said.
"They'll all be manufactured all over the world in this global race to
the bottom to find the cheapest source of labour," Dagg said.
In February 1999, Levi Strauss cut 600 jobs when it closed a plant in
Cornwall, Ont., and trimmed staff at the plant in Brantford. At the same
time, the company chopped 5,000 jobs in the United States as it closed 11
North American plants, citing weak sales of jeans.
Cone Mills, world's biggests denim maker, files for
bankruptcy
Meanwhile, Cone Mills Corp., the world's top maker of denim fabric and
a Levi Strauss supplier, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, in
advance of the company being sold to new owners.
Cone Mills blamed an influx of cheap fabric from Asia for declining
sales of its denim. The company recently missed a $4.1 million US interest
payment.
The 112-year old company, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, has
accepted a $90 million US offer from financier Wilbur Ross to buy the
firm's assets.
