More than 280 people in NC laid off in Piedmont Triad area plant closures
More than 110 people will be laid off by the end of the year when a major mattress manufacturer permanently closes its plant in Randolph County.
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Sealy Mattress Manufacturing Company is closing its 28-year-old plant in Trinity, about 68 miles north of Charlotte near High Point. The company plans to shut the site by Dec. 31.
The closure will result in 114 layoffs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) report filed on Oct. 23. Federal law requires such notices for certain mass layoffs. The report became available Monday.
Sealy Mattress is owned by Tempur Sealy International Inc. Its headquarters is in Trinity, where the company has been based since relocating from Ohio in 1998.
It’s unclear why the plant is closing. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
But last year, Tempur Sealy International added to its portfolio. After a court hearing with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Tempur Sealy International acquired Mattress Firm for $5 billion last February.
Sealy Mattress began making beds in 1881 in Sealy, Texas, according to its website.
In 2013, Tempur-Pedic purchased the Sealy Corporation for $1.3 billion. Once combined, Tempur Sealy International became the parent company.
Tempur Sealy is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, and employs more than 13,000 people worldwide.
Trinity wasn’t the only Piedmont Triad city facing layoffs this week.
Fresh produce distributor Foster USA is closing all three of its North Carolina facilities, including its Winston-Salem plant, according to a WARN report filed Oct. 21.
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Workers received only four days’ notice. Layoffs at the Winston-Salem location began Oct. 25.
By March 5, 169 people will have been laid off in Winston-Salem, and another 12 will have been laid off in Greenville. The distributor is also closing its Colfax facility, but no layoffs were reported there.
Employers generally must give workers at least 60 days’ notice before a mass layoff.
But Foster cited an “unforeseeable business circumstance” to explain the short notice, according to the report.
On Oct. 14, Foster’s principal customer announced it would terminate its contract by Nov. 11, according to the report. The customer accounts for 70% of Foster’s business, the report said.
The customer’s identity and the reason for the termination are unclear. Foster did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Foster began operating in the Winston-Salem site last year, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
Foster was awarded a $350,000 N.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority grant to renovate the facility.
The distributor also received $175,300 in performance-based incentives from the city and Forsyth County, payable over five years.
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Foster committed to investing $6.25 million in the city and creating 165 jobs.
