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2nd General News

John D. Simmons

3/190/02: James Harris, 24, a slasher helper, keeps a close eye on a dozen sheds (layers of threads) for imperfections as they are transferred from a 5'4" section beam to a 7' loom beam. Each beam has 6,000-7,000 ends (or threads). The Gayley & Lord weaving plant in Marion, N.C. employs about 530 people. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February and has cut nearly half of its 11,000-person workforce in the last two years. The company is one of the largest U.S. producers of denim, (Although NO denim is produced at the Marion plant.) and Levi Strauss & Co. is its biggest customer. The company says it will emerge from Chapter 11 stronger and able to compete.