Levi Strauss & Co. plans to close its remaining North American manufacturing and finishing plants, which will put nearly 2,000 employees out of work. The plant closures and job losses come at a time when the jeanswear company is facing growing competition in a crowded apparel market. UNITE President Bruce Raynor, head of the largest apparel workers' union in North America, criticized U.S. government trade policies that allowed companies to move operations to where labor costs are cheapest.
See "Levi to Shut N. American Plants, Cut Jobs", The New York Times, September 24, 2003