La-Z-Boy to Lay Off at Least 645

[Trillo]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Furniture giant La-Z-Boy Inc. announced plans to close three manufacturing plants and idle a fourth, laying off at least 645 workers and taking a $13 million pretax charge against earnings this year as it accelerates its shift to more foreign production.
<snip>
La-Z-Boy said it plans to cease production at its Pennsylvania House plant in Lewisburg, Pa., and at a nearby dining room chair assembly plant in White Deer, Pa., late this year. Closing those plants and associated warehouses in Pennsylvania will result in layoffs affecting 425, or 15 percent of the company's employees who produce wood furniture, La-Z-Boy said.

In addition, La-Z-Boy plans to idle by mid-September a Kincaid wood-furniture plant in Hudson, N.C., that employs 120. La-Z-Boy said layoffs of those workers would be temporary until the company can determine how much domestic demand it needs for wood products.

La-Z-Boy will also close a Booneville, Miss., plant producing England brand upholstered furniture and a warehouse that had recently produced Clayton Marcus furniture. The England plant employed 100. A La-Z-Boy spokesman wasn't immediately available to provide the total number of workers at warehouses that will be closed.
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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20040809/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_la_z_boy

[KamaAina]

1. Wow! Look at that Bush* job machine go!

That's 425 more P.O.'d Pennsylvanians, just in time to help us "swing" the state to Kerry!

[NMDemDist2]

2. the fall-out of gutting the middle class

with no money, nobody gets new furniture

[maxsolomon]

3. i used to cut grass for a la z boy franchise owner

what a cheap ass - $2/hour in 1980.

and what do you know? he & his wife are both maxed out on bush donations; $4k total. he could give a shit about this news as long as the chairs look the same coming from china.

[Kierkegaard]

4. But, but, we're turning the corner!

And around that corner is financial ruin for the American people. Wrong corner, doofus. :spank:

[Upfront]

5. No Wonder

The product has went down hill. My openion of them went from good to bad after a bad experince with the quality of the material on a chair. I could not get any help and they could have made it right. I would not buy another one of there products and I have bought much from them over the years.