Hanes outsources to Central America to bolster competitiveness of supply chain

Filed in archive News on September 19, 2006

Hanesbrands Inc announced that it will strengthen the competitiveness and flexibility of its global supply chain operations by moving production from three plants in the United States and Mexico to lower-cost domestic, Caribbean basin and Central American manufacturing facilities.

According to Fiber2Fashion, the company will close plants in Monclova, Mexico, Lumberton, N.C., and Marion, S.C., that primarily make fleece sweatshirts and pants, outerwear T-shirts, sport shirts and sheer hosiery. The closings will result in a reduction of approximately 2,185 jobs at these locations.

"These steps will strengthen our global supply chain by taking advantage of opportunities to improve the competitiveness, effectiveness and value of our operations," Hanesbrands CEO Richard A. Noll said. "A cost competitive and flexible global supply chain plays a crucial role in contributing to our strong cash flow, increased profitability and investment in our brands and innovation."

"We are making significant improvements to the Hanesbrands supply chain in order to maximize execution, service levels, value creation, consistency and speed to market," said Gerald Evans, Hanesbrands executive vice president and chief global supply chain officer. "We regret that employees at these locations will lose jobs, but we must design and continually update our network to take advantage of lower-cost, more-effective production opportunities in order to remain competitive and generate growth that allows our overall organization to thrive."