JoLene Co. Inc. says layoffs announced this week do not mean the clothing manufacturer is in trouble or losing sales.
Company officials say the layoffs reflect a seasonal adjustment, as well as an effort to keep up with competitors. Chief executive officer Don Geis said the company's sales remain strong worldwide for the children's clothing company."We've just got to be more competitive," Geis said.
However, he said the plant in Provo will close down for six to eight months starting in March to retool and upgrade. Work normally done in Provo will be done at other plants during the renovation.
"We need to make it a little smoother and a little faster," Geis said. "We're not doing this because we are in trouble."
The company notified about 100 seamstresses Monday their jobs would no longer be open at the Provo plant after the first part of March. The plant employed as many as 125 workers at one time.
Since JoLene's is an occasional dress house, the work is traditionally on a seasonal cycle anyway, Geis said.
"This is really nothing unusual," he said.
Geis said the layoffs represent nearly all of the sewing positions usually available in Provo but only a portion of the company's work force. The company runs shops in Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Mexico - leaving more than 220 employees to make the children's clothing.
JoLene's is also adding a popular knitwear playclothes line that will be sewn in Provo.
Geis emphasized that the company has also had problems finding enough Utah County workers willing to work for entry-level wages - which is one reason the Provo facility is hit with layoffs before other plants.
"I can't get enough people. I need more," he said.