ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 6, 1996 TAG: 9603060079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
note: above
Sara Lee Corp. will permanently lay off 420 garment workers as it closes a factory the company no longer needs, a company executive said Tuesday.
The sewing machines will stop March 15, the result of a slow period in the clothing business that forces Sara Lee to reduce its production capacity, said Nancy Young, spokeswoman for Sara Lee's Knit Products division in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The loss of hundreds of $9-an-hour jobs is a blow, but government and economic development officials said many workers should be able to find other jobs nearby.
Furniture makers need people and any of six other large textile or apparel plants in the region may be hiring, said Frank Novakowski, executive director of the Patrick Henry Development Council.
Once a major employer here, Sara Lee Knit Products has made deep cuts, and the latest one was expected. As recently as two years ago, Sara Lee employed 3,000 people at eight Martinsville-area locations. With the move made public Tuesday, the company eliminates the last of its manufacturing operations in the region, leaving only a distribution center in Henry County that employs 350 - one-tenth of its peak work force.
Sara Lee is not alone among U.S. apparel makers, which together are shedding thousands of jobs. The industry is facing increased imports of foreign-made clothing and flat clothing sales.
Recently, in Western Virginia, Dye-Tex Ltd., a New Jersey fabric dyer, halted Roanoke operations. Fieldcrest Cannon Inc. of Eden, N.C., said Tuesday it will close a towel weaving plant in York, S.C., and a yarn plant in Concord, N.C. The towel mill at Fieldale won't be affected.
Sara Lee also has announced plans to close its L'eggs Products Inc. distribution center in Salem, eliminating 132 jobs. That operation distributes Sara Lee's women's sheer hosiery. Sara Lee also operates a division of its PYA/Monarch food service company in Salem.
When Sara Lee went looking for a place to cut production capacity, it picked its Martinsville garment factory out of 15 U.S. and 12 foreign plants because the building at 202 Cleveland Ave. is 90 years old or older and work has to be spread between two floors in the former tobacco warehouse. These factors made the operation relatively inefficient, Young said.
The plant had no greater chance of successfully competing with modern facilities many companies have than "a '57 Chevy trying to race a '96 Corvette," Novakowski said. He called the building "a dinosaur."
Young stressed that the company is truly cutting capacity, not shifting work to cheaper foreign production operations.
Tuesday morning, Sara Lee executives called workers into a room they had cleared of materials used to make sweatshirts and sweatpants, and plant manager Randy Picklesimer announced the shutdown. Some employees cried; others were relieved they no longer had to guess about their future at the company, said Judy Stockton, a sewing machine operator.
Robin Slaughter, 37, a 16-year employee, clocked out Tuesday with no clear idea where she will look for other work. The layoff means she and her husband, a carpet layer, must "live a little tighter," she said.
Employee Jacqueline Martin said: "We knew it was coming."
Earlier efforts to cope with manufacturing layoffs at other area companies had led to the start of a technical skills program some time ago at Patrick Henry Community College, where some of the Sara Lee workers may be headed. The program can teach the Sara Lee crews how to upholster furniture, among other trades, a skill that is in demand by four companies that need about 100 upholstery workers, Novakowski said. The upholstery jobs will pay $8 to $15 an hour, he said.
Sara Lee's past efforts to help cast-off workers find new jobs have been exemplary, said Martinsville City Manager Earl Reynolds. He did not have any placement statistics to back up the claim.
Sara Lee vowed to try to find new jobs for as many employees who need them. It said there is $3,000 per worker for retraining and relocation to a new job inside or outside the company.
The workers will be paid through May 5. Health benefits will continue if employees pay their share. Those with seniority will get their regular pay and the company's contribution to the health plan for one additional week for every year of service.
The company's payroll is about $10 million yearly, and about 85 percent of the jobs are held by Martinsville or Henry County residents, said Sidney Klauer, Henry County's chief administrator.
The plant shutdown, he said, "certainly gives us an incentive to magnify our economic development efforts."
In that respect, Sara Lee's timing was fortuitous. Just hours after the plant closing came to light, the Patrick Henry Development Council announced a Thursday press conference to reveal a new industry locating in Henry County.
Staff writer Greg Edwards contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. WAYNE DEEL/Staff Sara Lee employees leave theby CNBMartinsville factory Tuesday after the announcement.
2. chart - Sara lee Corp. STAFF KEYWORDS: JOBCHEK