
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 31, 1995                   TAG: 9510310096
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press|
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Short

FRUIT OF LOOM TRIMS WORK FORCE

Underwear maker Fruit of the Loom Inc. plans to cut its U.S. work force by 12 percent, eliminating 3,200 jobs, to streamline operations and boost profits.

The move, announced Monday, reflects mounting pressure on apparel manufacturers to produce merchandise for the increasingly cutthroat retail industry.

Chicago-based Fruit of the Loom said it will close six plants and reduce operations at two more by the end of the year.

The plants to be closed are in Florence, Ala.; Franklin, Ky.; Acadia Parish, La.; Batesville, Miss.; and Albemarle and Kings Mountain, N.C. Operations will be reduced in Bowling Green, Ky., and Rockingham, N.C.

``The timing of the consolidation is a reflection of the difficult retail environment for apparel and increasingly competitive nature of the business,'' Fruit of the Loom, the nation's largest maker of underwear and active wear, said in a statement.

Fruit of the Loom blamed higher cotton prices and poor sales of printed T-shirts, licensed sports apparel, sweat shirts and sweat pants for the drop in third-quarter earnings - to $24.5 million from $40.2 million a year earlier.

by CNB