Tag: strategies

Online clothing company Stitch Fix is shuttering its Mohnton Mills operations by the end of this year, leaving 56 employees without jobs.

In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing sent to the state Department of Labor & Industry, Stitch Fix said its sewing factory at 22 Main St., Mohnton, and knitting mill at 130 N. Sterley St., Reading, would close.

Although the last day of onsite operations is anticipated to be Oct. 28, the WARN notice said, 55 affected employees will continue their fully paid employment through Dec. 2. After that, three supervisory workers of the 55 will remain employed on an unpaid leave of absence through a separation date of Dec. 15. One supervisory employee will be employed and fully paid through Dec. 30.

“As we focus on the strategies that support our return to profitable growth, notably increasing our number of active clients and optimizing our cost base, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to close our operations at Mohnton Mills,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

“While this is the right decision for our business, it is a hard day for our team. We are committed to supporting them with severance payments that increase with tenure, extended health care, recruitment resources and other benefits.”

The company is also offering two months’ paid notice, and a bonus for those staying to support the wind down.

San Francisco-based Stitch Fix, which is continuing to navigate an uncertain macro-economic climate and undertake a major business transformation, bought the sewing factory and knitting mill in 2017. It had formerly been Mohnton Knitting Mills, founded by Aaron Hornberger in 1906.

Paula Wolf is a freelance writer