Chances are you have, at one point, owned a set of underwear from the Hanes brand. However, even this underwear giant is having to make cutbacks in today's climate, announcing lay offs and business transfers.
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The 75 job layoffs the underwear company is having to make are due to the sale of the Champion brand from the Hanes repertoire. Due to the sale of their secondary company, the High Point Distribution Center facility will be closing. This was the main distributor for Champion.
Champion has split from the Hanes brand for no small sum of $1.5 billion. However, Hanes as a company is worth a solid $6 billion. Sometimes, even with an underwear company of this size, lay offs are inevitable. However, this distribution company may still be used.
The sale of Champion went to the Authentic Brand. This company is known for owning such labels as Eddie Bauer, Brooks Brothers, Rockport, and Reebok. So, this won't be the last we see of the champion underwear brand, although it will be the end for the lay offs.
Underwear Brand Staff Not Protected For Layoffs
According to Hanesbrands employees are not protected under union law, so no bump protection is available. This means, the folks from the underwear distribution centers won't be getting any help or pay for their sudden lay offs.
This will leave 75 people without jobs. I expect this will lead to some tough times for the ex-Hanes employees as they look for something new to do. This being said, the distribution market is bigger than it has ever been with international shipping at an all-time high. There are plenty of jobs in that particular market.
Notably, this is not the first wave of lay off the underwear brand has had to make. In April, Hanes also laid off a total of 159 workers from their Winston-Salem distribution center. Whether this is due to the increase in automation, or simply due to lower sales is unclear. Either way, the company is making changes, and it's always going to be about money.
Despite the lay offs, the underwear company has made serious profits over the past few years. Looking at their stock price shows a phenomenal 58.8% rise over just this past year. Whatever they're doing, it's certainly working.
