Fruit Of The Loom Moving Some Operations From Ky. To Honduras

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Fruit Of The Loom Moving Some Operations From Ky. To Honduras
Fri, 04/04/2014 - 3:42pm
by Adam Beam, Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- More than 600 workers will lose their jobs under Fruit of the Loom's plans to close its plant in Jamestown, Ky.

The company said it was moving the plant's textile operations to Honduras to save money. The company plans to close the plant in phases from June 8 through Dec. 31.

"It is very unexpected for me and, from what I'm hearing, for everyone in the community," said Sen. Sara Beth Gregory, whose district includes Jamestown. "I think everyone is reeling from the news."

In a news release, the company said its decision was "to align its global supply chain to allow the company to leverage existing investments and meet customer requirements more timely and cost effectively."

"This decision is in no way a reflection on the dedication and efforts of the employees in our Jamestown facility, but is a result of a competitive global business environment," Tony Pelaski, the company's executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a news release.


Read more: http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2014/04/fruit-of-the-loom-moving-some-operations-from-ky-to-honduras

---

[center]

Chief Operating Officer Tony Pekaski[/center]

[upaloopa]

1. I like the words they use.

As if they had no choice the market made them do it.
Align it's global supply chain so that it can pay poor workers 10 times less than it pays in the States and to leverage the existing assets to more efficiently pay the CEO bigger and bigger bonuses.

[theHandpuppet]

5. Doncha just love the way they toss their word salad?

Still smells like bullcrap, no matter what kind of dressing they put on it.

[upaloopa]

7. I use to work for people like that.

When their eloquence escapes me
Their logic ties me up and rapes me
De do do do de da da da

[freshwest]

26. It's a religious thing. Remember Michael Powell's 'The Free Market is My God!!!' statement?

Ayn Rand's creed is to reward the Producers and eliminate the Parasites. They must do it for their deity.

[christx30]

38. Working in Honduras:

Another day... another dollar.

[marble falls]

2. I am a hand dyer. I will never, ever use Fruit of the Loom, again. E-mail following this.

[justhanginon]

3. Due to my competitive local

Last edited Fri Apr 4, 2014, 06:33 PM - Edit history (1)

financial environment I won't be purchasing your products any more. This is in no way a reflection on your greedy unamerican business practices.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

4. Sold out by our own, again.

2000

CHICAGO, May 18 /PRNewswire/ --

Fruit of the Loom, Ltd. (OTC Bulletin Board: FTLAQ), today applauded President Clinton for signing the bill that will expand trade with the Caribbean and Central America. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 77-19 on Thursday, May 11.

Dennis Bookshester, President & Chief Executive Officer, stated, "This is extremely good news for our industry. All U.S. apparel makers have faced a very difficult environment in recent years, with international competition, mostly from Asia, inflicting tremendous price pressures on our domestic manufacturing base."


http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Fruit+of+the+Loom+Applauds+Passage+of+Trade+Legislation.-a062436553

[navarth]

30. Wow.

I voted for Bill Clinton twice.

Depressing.

[KamaAina]

6. Alison needs to get to Jamestown pronto

and hammer Yertle on this until his shell cracks!

[geretogo]

8. We have been exporting jobs and importing poverty for 34 years since Reagan .

[Judi Lynn]

15. Absolutely! Good one. Welcome to D.U., geretogo. n/t

[geretogo]

19. I'm 66 . I speak from observation , listening , and reading . It's called reality ,the opposite of

the GOP .

[Treant]

9. In related news,

Treant moves purchasing decisions away from Fruit of the Loom.

Does anybody know of a personals company that produces basic stuff and is located and produces them here in the United States?

[theHandpuppet]

10. Here's one....

https://www.flintandtinderusa.com/underwear

[theHandpuppet]

12. Here's another...

http://www.unionlabel.com/

[Treant]

18. A huge THANK YOU

for those!

[theHandpuppet]

28. You're very welcome

Please pass the links along to those you know.

[A Little Weird]

29. Here's some more links

For both men and women.
http://decentexposures.com/Underwear/Detail/Women
http://www.wittmanntextiles.com/womun.html
http://www.wickers.com/
I think American Apparel has underwear too.

Women only:
http://www.wearcommando.com/

Men only:
http://www.camapp.com/index.php -produces underwear for the military
http://www.cityboxers.com
http://www.allamericanclothing.com/made-in-usa/accessories.html

[ReRe]

11. Fruit. Of. The. Loom.

It's like a diabolical nightmare-that-won't-come-to-an-end in this country. I thought this outsourcing business was over and done with? Oh, they'll be back. And when they come back, they are hoping unions will all be dead and buried and the desperate hungry people will work themselves to death for rock-bottom minimum wages.

Fruit of the Loom. I thought they were as American as apple pie. America--it ain't what it used to be.

[Trust Buster]

13. And to think the Right wing nuts.......

Were crowing over the VW union vote and claiming what a great business environment they have in the south. Can you hear me now TOOLS ?????????

[bearssoapbox]

14. So the price of tighty whities will drop by how much????

[closeupready]

40. ? HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, and 'I just few in from Cleveland, and boy, are my arms tired.'

+1.

[littlewolf]

16. OK I will be buying Hanes. nt

[theHandpuppet]

27. Hanes are also produced with sweatshop labor.

After all, they have to save their money to pay Michael Jordan for those commercials.

[Brigid]

17. More jobs outsourced. Gone.

Par for the course. Nothing to see here folks, move along.

[1000words]

20. Yet another skid mark on the U.S. economy

To be brief ...

[snowshadow]

21. Very Funny!

It is really sad that 600 people will lose their jobs and that part is not funny.

[1000words]

22. Gallows humor

You're right, not funny at all.

[kimbutgar]

23. They should tax this company for outsourcing American jos

I remember the Dem's passed a bill to tax companies who do this and the rethugs blocked it. Of course we all know McConnell will do nothing about this.

I think Grimes can use this an example of corporate greed and call out McConnell and ask him how are you going to save those jobs?

Time to stop buying fruit of the loom.

[oldandhappy]

24. Gotta save a quarter of a cent to meet WalMart pricing!!

Thanks for all the above comments. Yep. Another brand down the tubes.

[AngryDem001]

25. "Oh, you need this job to feed your family and keep a roof over your head?"

"But think about this, with the savings generated by eliminating your job, the CEO will be able to buy another private jet!"

Hooray for American CRAPitalism!

[navarth]

31. "Benedict Arnold Corporations"

I heard John Kerry say that. He was right. Profits Above Country.

"There are no countries, Mr. Beale; only Corporations."

yuck.

[olegramps]

32. There is a weapon that will stop the cold.

Its tariffs. If the congress really gave a damn about American workers they would slap a tariff on their goods. But, oh no, the Republican propaganda machine has convinced American workers that globalization is a glorious achievement. It is in reality a race to the bottom and American workers won't be any better off when they are finished with their program than workers in Vietnam where the minimal wage is about a quarter.

[lancer78]

33. Tariffs don't do any good

Look up Lawrence O'Donnel and Tariffs.

[brentspeak]

34. I looked up "Lawrence O'Donnel and Tariffs"

And there's nothing. Was there a point to your post?

The only people who don't like tariffs are a) rich pricks who enjoy getting undeserved dollars courtesy of cheap labor; b) pompous economists who've been indoctrinated with antiquated free-trade hocus-pocus; c) politicians on the take from rich pricks.

The USA did extremely well for two hundred years employing strategic tariffs. Now we have a crumbling middle class thanks to exported industry.

[olegramps]

36. I would like to add that the Founding Fathers had it right:

They grasp the basic concept that if you don't stimulate home production then you will become a supply of rare material and importer of finished goods. As you pointed out, it wasn't until the Civil War that we had a income tax and that was very minimal to support the war effort. Nearly all revenues were generated by tariffs. Tariffs are the only way to protect your industrial base in a world of the haves and have-nots.

How can anyone in the right mind believe that we can compete against companies that ship the necessary machinery and knowhow to a country that pays their workers 28 cents an hour. We can only have fair trade if all the worlds workers were united in unions and even then it would take considerable time for compensation to equalize.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

43. Lawrence O'Donnel?

Now there's an authority on economics!


the only thing o'donnel is an expert on is bloviating.

[Psephos]

44. Smoot Hawley didn't, umm, work out very well in the 1930s.

A lot can be gleaned from reviewing its history.

[Lars28]

35. Eventually these runaway factories....

....will kill the goose that laid the golden egg: the US working class, who won't be able to buy the underpants the Hondurans make.

[redwitch]

37. Time to go commando! nt

[hatrack]

39. Freedom!!

[DeSwiss]

41. K&R

The capitalist system, as with all monetary systems, is not sustainable because it is predicated not only upon the magical concept of making ''something from nothing,'' but at its basis it all rests upon the concept of scarcity, a problem that has been largely resolved by modern technology. The benefits of that technology simply has not been passed on to everyone, but has been held (confiscated) by the ''owners'' (a bullshit concept if there ever was one) at the top. They accomplished this in a number of ways, primarily by using the government and the threat of its military might as its protector.

The monarchies of the past have simply been replaced by an oligarchy-led corptocracy today. We're still serfs, folks -- they just redefined it.

In the capitalist system, change does not occur unless profits are threatened or if making such a change insures the existing corporate structure will make higher profits (think energy). For-profit corporations simply do not make any decisions that are solely for the benefit of the people or society at-large. If they can accomplish the one while achieving the other, fine. If they can make more profit by squeezing even that, they'll do it. They have no choice, capitalism is a form of insanity and they can't stop themselves.

So no matter how much improvement in technology that society has, no matter how much the productivity and quality of products improves, the benefits will not be passed on knowingly to the greater society because corporate property ownership allows those at the top to keep most, if not all of these benefits in the form of profits -- which is WRIT LARGE in America today.

And PROFIT is the Holy Grail of America.

However, in the end it's not necessary to do anything to try and reform the capitalist system because it can't be reformed, only replaced. And to do that you need only have patience, because its design will assure that it will destroy itself. Greed always does.

- The problem or question we now face, is how many will it take with it when it goes?



[center]''Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.'' ~Edward Abbey[/center]

[Zorra]

42. See? If there had not been a US supported fascist coup in Honduras, Fruit of the Loom would

not be able to lay off all those expensive workers in the US, in order to set up their worker exploiting sweatshops in Honduras.

The system works!