BIDDEFORD (AP) – The bankruptcy filing by WestPoint Stevens Inc. should have no impact on the company’s operations and should not result in any layoffs, a company spokeswoman said.
WestPoint Stevens Inc., owner of the WestPoint mill on Main Street, filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors Monday so it can reorganize its finances.
Westpoint Stevens, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of sheets, pillow cases and towels, has struggled with high debt, a slumping economy and low-cost rivals in China and Central America.
“I expect all our plants to be running – it’s business as usual here,” spokeswoman Toni Cauble said from company headquarters in West Point, Ga. “Normal schedule, no reductions in personnel, no layoffs at this time.”
In Biddeford, the company’s mill was shut down Friday because of an electrical problem. It was expected to start production again late Tuesday night. The mill employs about 375 workers on three shifts.
The company employs a total of 14,600 people.
News of the bankruptcy filing came as little surprise to employees.
“We’ve all been looking for other work since Friday,” said Jimmy Lantagne, an Arundel resident who has worked in the plant for 16 years. “The rumors said they would file June 15, so they jumped the gun a little.”
Cauble said the Biddeford plant, which produces Vellux blankets, has had $11 million in improvements in the past five years.
Ed Clark, executive vice president of the Union of Needletrades Industrial and Textile Employees, said the plant is among the company’s stronger assets.
“We do know the plant in Maine is probably the most productive one WestPoint has,” he said.
WestPoint Stevens, whose brands include Martex, Martha Stewart, Lady Pepperell and Ralph Lauren, listed assets of $1.3 billion and debts of almost $2.2 billion in its Chapter 11 filing in New York.
AP-ES-06-03-03 1425EDT
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