posted 09-25-2003 05:29 PM            

Levis Leave America for good.

Thu Sep 25, 3:10 PM ET

By Lauren Foster in New York

Levi Strauss, the iconic jeans brand that has been worn by generations of Americans, on Thursday announced plans to close its four remaining North American manufacturing and finishing plants, with the loss of almost 2,000 jobs.

The world's largest branded clothing maker said the closures were part of a shift away from owned-and-operated manufacturing that began several years ago.

"We're in a highly competitive industry where few apparel brands own and operate manufacturing facilities in North America," said Phil Marineau, the chief executive. "We need to focus our resources on product design and development, sales and marketing and our retail customer relationships."

Levi Strauss said it would close its San Antonio operations by the end of the year and its three Canadian facilities by March 2004 and shift production to its global sourcing network.

Bruce Raynor, president of Unite, the largest apparel workers' union in North America, said the job losses and plant closures were the result of US trade policies that allowed companies to "scour the globe for the cheapest, most vulnerable labour" they could find.

Over several years of restructuring, the company has closed six US factories and two in Europe and shifted most of its production to Asia and Latin America. In an effort to reverse market share losses after consumers started deserting its jeans, Levi has also overhauled its product range and its marketing. But this week Moody's, the credit rating agency, downgraded the 150-year-old San Francisco-based company, citing concerns about "the rapid decline in the company's financial flexibility" and disappointing sales, cash generation and debt levels for the year to date.

Despite tough conditions, including deflation in clothing prices, Levi earlier this month released estimated financial results showing a 6 to 7 per cent rise in third-quarter sales to about $1.08bn. Sales have been boosted by the launch of the Levi Strauss Signature brand through Wal-Mart stores - the first time Levis have been sold through a mass-market discounter.