ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 28, 1996 TAG: 9612300081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
Hanover Direct Inc. on Friday put firm numbers for the first time on plans for a major layoff at its Roanoke Valley facilities. About 380 people - nearly a third of the company's local work force - will lose their jobs, said Ralph Bulle, senior vice president for human resources.
The company broke the news to employees a week ago, but left unclear how many would get pink slips.
Bulle said Friday the Weehawken, N.J.-based catalog merchant was eliminating the second work shift at its home furnishings and textiles warehouse and distribution facility on Hollins Road in Roanoke County. That represented ``150 or so'' jobs. Most were full-time positions, though some workers were employed on a seasonal basis, Bulle said.
Between Feb. 18 and March 1, the company will phase out a telemarketing operation at its local apparel division in the former Tweeds catalog center at Bonsack. That will eliminate about 230 jobs, about half of them full time, Bulle said.
Full-time employees with at least a year of seniority are eligible for a severance package, Bulle said. Details were not available. Jobs at Hanover Direct's local plants pay $5 to $11 an hour, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which is trying to organize warehouse workers.
The laid-off workers have some chance of getting their jobs back, Bulle said. The company will try to run the telemarketing center as a contract operation for another company that needs telemarketing services. Hanover Direct is looking for an outside customer, he said.
In addition, distribution center employment depends on business volume and could pick up if customer orders increase, Bulle said.
On the other hand, the company will move cautiously, he said. It recently dropped a strategy to grow.
Hanover's priority for at least two years will be ending its multimillion-dollar losses and making a profit, Bulle said.
"We have overall retrenched our business," Bulle said. "The company is clearly taking a conservative approach."
After the job cuts, the company reportedly will have 700 to 800 local employees remaining, but Bulle said he could not confirm that estimate. "We still plan on being a major employer in Roanoke," he said.
The Roanoke-area cuts are part of Hanover Direct's companywide attempt to trim costs by $50 million. It lost $30 million in 1995 and $52 million during the first nine months of 1996, said Larry Svoboda, Hanover Direct's senior vice president and chief financial officer. The mail-order company expects its revenues to decline by 14 percent next year, after discontinuing several catalogs during 1996. Hanover Direct now sells from 12 catalogs, he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines KEYWORDS: JOBCHEKby CNB