HanesBrands to close Clarksville hosiery plant at end of September

HanesBrands has confirmed it is closing its hosiery production plant in Clarksville at the end of September. The move shutters a plant that once employed at least 570 in the seat of Johnson County. The company declined to say how many the plant now employs.

The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company announced in February 2022 it was selling its U.S. sheer hosiery operations as part of its “Full Potential Initiative.” At the time, the company said the hosiery business was expected to generate around $60 million in sales and “essentially zero operating profit in 2022.”

HanesBrands’ Clarksville facility primarily produces sheer hosiery along with seamless bras. At one time, it was one of the largest hosiery knitting facilities in the world.

“In early 2022, we announced plans to sell our U.S. Sheer Hosiery business.  As part of that ongoing process, we will be discontinuing production at our manufacturing facility in Clarksville at the end of September,” according to a statement the company provided Tuesday (Aug. 1) to Talk Business & Politics. “Decisions that affect our workforce are taken very seriously. We thank our associates in Clarksville for their contributions to HanesBrands and are committed to working closely with them to provide support through the transition.”

The company did not respond to questions about how many are now employed at the plant and what severance benefits or relocation assistance, if any, would be provided to plant workers.

Hanesbrands posted a first-quarter loss of $34.4 million, a wide swing from a gain of $118.702 million in the same quarter of 2022. Revenue in the first quarter was $1.389 billion, down almost 12% from $1.576 billion in the same quarter of 2022. Operating income in the segment that includes hosiery was $70.608 million, down 29% compared with $102.146 million in the same first quarter of 2022.

The company, in early 2015, announced it was moving hosiery production from Honduras to the Clarksville plant. The company said then that the move would add 120 jobs in Clarksville and bring total employment to 570. At the time, HanesBrands’ Clarksville plant primarily produced sheer hosiery and seamless bras. It was one of the largest hosiery knitting facilities in the world.

Founded in 1901, HanesBrands reports having around 51,000 employees in 32 countries. Company shares (NYSE: HBI) closed Tuesday at $5.33, up 6 cents. For the past 52 weeks, the share price has ranged between $11.77 and $3.85.