QUOTE
Dateline 1/9/2004; San Antonio AP Newservice
Levi Strauss closes last two U.S. plants
By T.A. BADGER
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Levi Strauss & Co., the California Gold Rush outfitter whose blue jeans are a globally recognized symbol of America, closed its last two U.S. sewing plants Thursday.
About 800 workers at the 26-year-old San Antonio plants lost their jobs in the move, which was announced last September.
The financially troubled company, based in San Francisco, has been shifting production to overseas contractors for years to offset drooping sales in the ultra-competitive apparel market. Only two decades ago, it had 63 U.S. manufacturing plants.
Levi Strauss spokesman Jeff Beckman said the 150-year-old company was making a delayed but unavoidable business decision.
‘‘We tried to do our best to maintain manufacturing in the United States, but we have to be competitive to survive as a company,’’ he said.
Sewing in San Antonio finished up around Thanksgiving and last month it ceased the laundering work done to give jeans their various finishes. Once, more than 4 million pairs of jeans were made here each year by workers earning an average of $10-$12 per hour.
This spring Levi’s will shutter its three remaining company-owned plants in Canada, completing the shift to contract production in China and other countries with far cheaper labor.
Levi Strauss, which is privately held, has weathered seven straight years of declining sales after its revenue peak of $7.1 billion in 1996.
In 2002, the company reported sales of $4.1 billion, and Beckman said the yet-to-be-released number for 2003 would be 2 percent to 3 percent below that.
The company has seen its global work force shrink from more than 37,000 in 1996 to about 12,000 as of last month, roughly half of them in the United States, said spokeswoman Kari Otto Seymore.
Levi Strauss closes last two U.S. plants
By T.A. BADGER
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Levi Strauss & Co., the California Gold Rush outfitter whose blue jeans are a globally recognized symbol of America, closed its last two U.S. sewing plants Thursday.
About 800 workers at the 26-year-old San Antonio plants lost their jobs in the move, which was announced last September.
The financially troubled company, based in San Francisco, has been shifting production to overseas contractors for years to offset drooping sales in the ultra-competitive apparel market. Only two decades ago, it had 63 U.S. manufacturing plants.
Levi Strauss spokesman Jeff Beckman said the 150-year-old company was making a delayed but unavoidable business decision.
‘‘We tried to do our best to maintain manufacturing in the United States, but we have to be competitive to survive as a company,’’ he said.
Sewing in San Antonio finished up around Thanksgiving and last month it ceased the laundering work done to give jeans their various finishes. Once, more than 4 million pairs of jeans were made here each year by workers earning an average of $10-$12 per hour.
This spring Levi’s will shutter its three remaining company-owned plants in Canada, completing the shift to contract production in China and other countries with far cheaper labor.
Levi Strauss, which is privately held, has weathered seven straight years of declining sales after its revenue peak of $7.1 billion in 1996.
In 2002, the company reported sales of $4.1 billion, and Beckman said the yet-to-be-released number for 2003 would be 2 percent to 3 percent below that.
The company has seen its global work force shrink from more than 37,000 in 1996 to about 12,000 as of last month, roughly half of them in the United States, said spokeswoman Kari Otto Seymore.
Now, I understand more why word was quickly passed in private goldminer email lists about 5 weeks ago that LEVI was hunting for muscular USA genuine male goldminers, and they stressed the term "not buffed" and gave an advertising agency contact name and phone number. They wanted males only, it should be stressed.
Now, I ask you threadmatey's...do you REALLY think we are going to be fooled by a slick advertising campaign with some hunk o'miners paradin' around in skin tight CHINESE Levi's WITHOUT ANY ORE IN THEIR POCKETS to keep buying LEVI'S?
Me? I think I'll hang on and repatch the one's I already have. Nothing wrong with patches...on patches...on patches, yes?
Hey, Denise...maybe we should have an "equipment contest" for the best and worst looking pair of genuine AMERICAN MADE Levi's" contest of our own.
1) Men's category-Miners with equipment in hand or in picture
2) Women's category-miners with equipment in hand or in picture
3) NO NUDES...gotta have them Levi jean's on...this IS a family forum!!!
I'll donate a small nugget fer a prize... Whatchasay, Denise? CP? :o
:o
