Thread: Levi Strauss closes last two U.S. plants

Levi Strauss closes last two U.S. plants

Blue-jean maker has been moving jobs overseas for years

A Levi Strauss and Co. sign is seen Thursday through a locked gate at the company's plants in San Antonio.
updated 1/8/2004 4:42:30 PM ET

SAN ANTONIO — Levi Strauss & Co., the California Gold Rush outfitter whose trademark blue jeans have been an American clothing staple for generations, on Thursday closed its last two sewing plants in the United States.

The financially troubled company has been steadily shifting production to overseas contractors for several years to cut costs and invigorate drooping sales in the ultra-competitive apparel market.

About 800 workers at the 26-year-old San Antonio plants have lost their jobs in the move, which was announced in September. Jeff Beckman, a Levi Strauss spokesman, said the 150-year-old company was making a delayed but ultimately 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. More than 4 million pairs of jeans were once made here each year by workers earning, on average, $10 to $12 per hour.

This spring, San Francisco-based Levi's will complete the shift to contract production by shuttering its three remaining company-owned plants in Canada.

Privately held Levi Strauss 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 lower than that.

The company has seen its global work force shrink from more than 37,000 in 1996 to about 12,000 last month, roughly half of them in the United States, said spokeswoman Kari Otto Seymore.

Along with its headquarters staff, Levi's will continue to base its design and sales employees in the United States, along with a number of distribution centers.

Its identity will also stay in the USA.

"We're still an American brand, but we're also a brand and a company whose products have been adopted by consumers around the world," Beckman said. "We have to operate as a global company."

Walter Loeb, a retail analyst in New York, says the profitability of moving production to China and elsewhere is worth more than a symbolic presence in the United States, where Levi's had made jeans since the 1870s.

"Investors are not very sentimental these days," he said.

Loeb said even with far cheaper overseas labor costs, management faces a big challenge in restoring the company's once-snug fit with consumers.

"There was a time when Levi's was the fashion garment of the day," he said. "The exclusivity of the Levi's brand is no longer as important to customers."

Levi's closed six U.S. manufacturing plants in April 2002 in a move that cost 3,600 jobs. Only the San Antonio facilities were spared, though several hundred jobs were lost here.

In the early 1980s, the company had 63 manufacturing plants in the United States, Seymore said.

A third plant in San Antonio was closed without notice in 1990, costing Viola Casares and about 1,100 workers — many of them Mexican-American women with limited jobs skills.

"For me right now, I feel like I'm in mourning," said Casares, who co-founded a group that used boycotts and picketing to protest the 1990 closure. "We used to be like a family. It's hard to believe that it's final."

She said those out of work will have trouble finding jobs with wages as good as Levi's.

"We're losing so many jobs here in San Antonio because all of our factories are moving out," said Casares. "It's hard to find work, especially for people over 50."

Seymore said Levi's severance package includes two weeks pay for every full year of employment, as well as an enhanced pension program and a period of subsidized medical coverage. In addition, she said, workers will be given $2,450 each.

Casares says those benefits are far better than what she received 13 years ago, when she was a single mother with four young children. But she doesn't expect too many of the workers are smiling these days: "They would rather have a job."

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3909407/ns.../#.Wp5VA3xOnIU

For those who didn't know. "Free trade" has already decimated domestic production of Levi-Strauss and thousands of other US companies.

The reason the US will win hands down any trade war anyone wants to start with US is because for US, like freedom, "trade war" is just another word for nothing left to lose.

If Trump can balance these trade deficits, that's $800 billion a year, A YEAR, of retained earnings for the US economy, American businesses, American workers and American citizens. That's $800 billion a year in cash that remains inside the boundaries of the United States that we are now shipping out faster than we can count it by importing foreign goods into the United States, most of it goods produced by US companies with overseas manufacturing operations that should be here in the United States.

Levi-Strauss started outsourcing jobs back in the mid to late 90's. NAFTA (1993) and CAFTA (2004) made finding a cheap labor source much easier. Since then there has been a downgrade in quality. I used to swear by my Levi jeans but have since switched to Wranglers. Interesting thing is, the downgrade in quality and cheaper labor didn't bring lower prices for the consumer, nope, they kept increasing. Levi regular fit 505 jeans, which I used to buy in the 90's for $25.00, now cost between $45.00 and $60.00. I buy the Wranglers for around $25.00 now. Ironically, the price of the jean (Levi) has more than doubled in 20 years, but unfortunately the same thing can't be said for middle class wages.

Interestingly, I see Trump's corporate tax cuts didn't have any effect on the Levi-Strauss decision. However, I'm betting the major stock holders in those companies are smiling all the way to the bank.

Originally Posted by MW

Levi-Strauss started outsourcing jobs back in the mid to late 90's. NAFTA (1993) and CAFTA (2004) made finding a cheap labor source much easier. Since then there has been a downgrade in quality. I used to swear by my Levi jeans but have since switched to Wranglers. Interesting thing is, the downgrade in quality and cheaper labor didn't bring lower prices for the consumer, nope, they kept increasing. Levi regular fit 505 jeans, which I used to buy in the 90's for $25.00, now cost between $45.00 and $60.00. I buy the Wranglers for around $25.00 now. Ironically, the price of the jean (Levi) has more than doubled in 20 years, but unfortunately the same thing can't be said for middle class wages.

Interestingly, I see Trump's corporate tax cuts didn't have any effect on the Levi-Strauss decision. However, I'm betting the major stock holders in those companies are smiling all the way to the bank.

The date of the article is 2004. Levi-Strauss made the decision to close its last two manufacturing plants in the United States 14 years ago. It remains to be seen if Trump's policies on taxes and trade will bring them back.

Wow, didn't realize the article was so outdated! Well, I guess everything I said, with the exception of the tax comment, is still relevant.

So this article was written in 2004. That explains it. I've been wearing Levis since I was in grade school in the early 80s. My levis never fit right for the last 10 to 15 years. I guess this explains why. I thought it was maybe because I don't have the body of an 18 year old anymore, but they still seemed like they should have fit better anyway. Now that I know this, I am going to look into jeans made here. Screw traitor Levis.

Exactly. So the talking points from the EU about putting tariffs on Levis is a false narrative because Levis aren't even made in the US to begin with, not a one of 'em. The other false talking point is from the free traders who claim tariffs will raise prices, Levis prices are higher since they went to cheapo Mexico than they were when they were made by well-paid Americans in the US. Globalists are liars, tricksters, fools and idiots.

Originally Posted by MW

Levi-Strauss started outsourcing jobs back in the mid to late 90's. NAFTA (1993) and CAFTA (2004) made finding a cheap labor source much easier. Since then there has been a downgrade in quality. I used to swear by my Levi jeans but have since switched to Wranglers. Interesting thing is, the downgrade in quality and cheaper labor didn't bring lower prices for the consumer, nope, they kept increasing. Levi regular fit 505 jeans, which I used to buy in the 90's for $25.00, now cost between $45.00 and $60.00. I buy the Wranglers for around $25.00 now. Ironically, the price of the jean (Levi) has more than doubled in 20 years, but unfortunately the same thing can't be said for middle class wages.

Interestingly, I see Trump's corporate tax cuts didn't have any effect on the Levi-Strauss decision. However, I'm betting the major stock holders in those companies are smiling all the way to the bank.

Wranglers are also made in other countries.

Companies like Wrangler, Lee, Levi, Carhart, and Dickies have all closed their doors on American workers and are now made in many foreign nations.

Hey, do you guys remember sedgefield jeans? Mine and my friends' older brothers and sisters used to where the sedgefield bell-bottoms back in the early 80s. Man, I haven't thought about those for years. Mentioning Wranglers got me thinking of all the jeans from back in the day. I used to where wrangles when I was like in 5th and 6th grade, but Levis were always my number one choice.

We need to start boycotting these traitor companies and find and buy jeans made here, MW.

Here's one site:

https://www.allamericanclothing.com/...usa/jeans.html

Here's another one:

http://www.texasjeans.com/made-in-the-usa.cfm

If you google "American made jeans", you'll find a bunch.

Originally Posted by 6 Million Dollar Man

So this article was written in 2004. That explains it. I've been wearing Levis since I was in grade school in the early 80s. My levis never fit right for the last 10 to 15 years. I guess this explains why. I thought it was maybe because I don't have the body of an 18 year old anymore, but they still seemed like they should have fit better anyway. Now that I know this, I am going to look into jeans made here. Screw traitor Levis.

I went to Wrangler jeans. However, I think some of them are also manufactured outside our country, but of course they're advertised as American jeans. I really don't know who manufactures jeans exclusively in the United States.

Originally Posted by MW

I went to Wrangler jeans. However, I think some of them are also manufactured outside our country, but of course they're advertised as American jeans. I really don't know who manufactures jeans exclusively in the United States.

Oops, made that response prior to reading the entire thread. Just got to your first post and responded 6 million dollar man. Sorry, guess I should have read the entire thread before responding.