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Leggett & Platt Closes 45-Year-Old Furniture Parts Plant

By wmadministrator

Leggett & Platt has notified employees at its Simpsonville furniture parts manufacturing plant that the facility will close at the end of March.

The facility produces metal mechanisms used in reclining sofas and chairs.
News of the shutdown brings the plant’s 45-year history to a close and leaves some 250 workers without jobs.

At the early part of this decade, Leggett & Platt was one of the area’s largest manufacturing facilities, with more than 600 employees. In recent years, however, layoffs have left the facility with less than half that figure. Ninety-one employees were let go in January 2007, and prior to the announcement of the plant closing, another 86 were already scheduled to be laid off as of mid-December.

In a press release issued regarding the closure, L&P officials said the decision was due to changes in the market, which led to excess capacity companywide.
A portion of the plant’s operations will be moved to L&P’s plant in Leitchfield, Ky., with other operations being moved to China.