Delta Apparel to close plant in Maiden, lay off 159

America’s Delta Apparel has announced that it is closing its textile facility in Maiden, North Carolina, and the move will result in the layoff of 159 workers there.

The company will move production to a plant in Honduras and might outsource additional fabric in Mexico, Delta said in a recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice. Under federal law, companies must file WARN notices when they make mass layoffs, close plants and change ownership, the Charlotte Observer has reported.

The plant at 100 W. Pine St., in Maiden, about 38 miles northwest of uptown Charlotte, will begin closing July 9, Delta said.

“During the past several years weak economic conditions have had a significant impact on the entire apparel industry,” Delta said in the WARN. “After careful consideration, we have determined that it is too costly to modernize and continue textile manufacturing in Maiden.”

Delta said that as other apparel companies have done, it has been evaluating all investments it’s made to improve business and lower costs. As a result, it’s reorganized and consolidated many functions across its business, the company added.

Delta also said it will file a NAFTA-TAA petition with the US Labour Department on behalf of the employees losing their jobs for potential benefits.

The Carolinas were once the epicenter of the US textile industry, but since the late 1990s, thousands of jobs have been lost when emerging markets, touting cheaper materials and labour, joined the game. Carolinas textile jobs have gone to China, Brazil and Vietnam, among other places, the report said.