A Reidsville-based textile manufacturing company will layoff 95 workers – about half of its workforce – in April, according to paperwork filed with the state.
Global Textile Alliance was founded in 2001 in Reidsville and makes bedding and upholstery fabrics. The company will still have about 90 people still working there after the layoffs, says Leigh Cockram, director of Rockingham County Economic Development and Tourism.
“We are always saddened to hear of any layoffs from our local businesses, but our economy is strong, and we will be working with GTA, NCWorks, and our local employers to ensure those affected will be able to find new jobs,” says Cockram.
Cockram described Global Textile Alliance as a “strong community partner and employer in the area.”
Reidsville, located about 25 miles north of Greensboro, is located in Rockingham County, which borders Virginia. Rockingham County had an unemployment rate of 3.5% in December 2023, compared to 3.7% one year earlier. Other large employers in the county, outside government and healthcare, include other textile companies, Unifi and Gildan Yarns, Walmart and gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger.
Company officials did not return messages seeking comment. Chief Finance Officer Chris Cave reported to the state that the layoffs are permanent and that all affected employees had been notified. The workers are not unionized. The layoff is a “result of competitive and market forces in the textile and bedding sectors of the home goods industry,” Cave wrote in the notice sent to the state.
Employees losing their jobs will come from the knitting, weaving, finishing and operational support areas of the business, Cave wrote.
In the 2010s, Belgian sister companies Ter Molst and Symphony Mills opened a department within the Global Textile Alliance facilities to serve the American market directly.