Parkdale Mills, a major manufacturer of spun yarns, is closing its textile mill in Alexander City, Ala., starting on July 24, according to a notification on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s WARN List.
The shutdown will cost 113 people their jobs, the WARN List indicated. The plant was purchased by Parkdale after Avondale Mills closed in 2006, according to Al.com.
Karen Menting, Parkdale Mills vice president of human resources, told The Outlook of Alexander City “it’s just because of business conditions.”
“We have some really good employees in Alexander City,” Menting told the Outlook. “We met with them one-on-one. We met with everybody on both the day and night shift. We called the ones who were off or on vacation and some wanted to come in to meet. Some wanted to vent, some were appreciative of what we are trying to do to help them.”
Menting said some employees would be taking advantage of employment opportunities at Parkdale’s Leesburg operation about two hours and 15 minutes from Alexander City.
“We will be helping with some relocation expenses,” Menting said. “Those employees also get to maintain their benefits.”
Menting told the Outlook Parkdale is working with the Lake Martin Area Economic Development Alliance (LMAEDA) to help find other employment opportunities for current Parkdale employees staying in Alexander City.
“We have already filed under [the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act],” Menting said. “We will be working with the local economic development authority to assist those employees who will need to find work elsewhere. There will be training offered so some employees will obtain different skills. At some point we will invite other employers in the area to interview Parkdale employees for employment.”
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Menting did not reply to a request from Sourcing Journal for comment and confirmation.
Though Parkdale is closing one facility, the company continues to invest elsewhere.
In December, Gastonia, N.C.-headquartered Parkdale said it was making multimillion-dollar investment in a new yarn spinning facility in Honduras and an additional substantial investment to support existing operations in Hillsville, Va. The investment will help customers shift 1 million pounds of yarn per week away from supply chains in Asia and China, and enhance U.S. and CAFTA-DR co-production resilience and increase regional product offerings, the company said.
The investment is intended to support roughly 500 employees at each location and increase indirect job growth in Honduras and in the United States, particularly in the U.S. cotton industry across 18 states.
“Parkdale sees an enormous opportunity for brands and retailers to re-shore and nearshore production supply chains and double the size of U.S.-CAFTA-DR trade because of the rules of origin in our trade agreement and a shift in sourcing by brands and retailers mitigating their supply chain sourcing risks,” Anderson Warlick, chairman and CEO of Parkdale Mills, said at the time. “We are excited about what this opportunity means for jobs in the U.S. and the region for this critical production chain and couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of this effort.”
On its website, Parkdale says it is the largest consumer of cotton in the U.S. and one of the largest providers of spun yarns in the world, producing over 8,000 tons per week of products at 29 manufacturing plants in the U.S, Mexico and South America.