Hanesbrands announced yesterday that it will cease hosiery production by the end of 2010 at its Weeks in Forsyth County, shedding 240 manufacturing jobs. A further 80 distribution jobs are expected to be transferred to the company’s Rural Hall location.

The company put the closure down to reduced demand for fine hosiery products in recent years saying that sales dropped by 14% in 2008 and a further 18% to June this year. Around 200 employees in research, NPD, QC and engineering are unaffected by the closure and the company plans to sell the plant and lease space for those operations.

Source: Winston-Salem Journal