A fine garment factory scheduled to close next month is under new ownership….and a new lease on life, so to speak.
Hugo Boss and its roughly 160 workers was scheduled to shutter in April, an announcement made last year that frazzled families and officials across Brooklyn. Company heads said their decision was based on “inefficiencies and other challenges” based on the plant’s location and production capacity.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown says a deal reached between Hugo Boss and W. Diamond Group has instead spared the factory from closure.
“This is a $6 million payroll for the city of Brooklyn," says Brown. "The manufacturing job has a multiplier effect, it’s 4 or 5 other jobs in the community. It matters to the local tailor, the local hardware store, the supplier, the truck driver, the restaurant."
The W. Diamond Group says a new contract is still being finalized with union leaders, but the hours, wages, and compensation are expected to remain the same. It's taking ownership in what is hoped to be a seamless transition.
CEO Doug Williams says they back American-made products, which gives them a competitive advantage over those that outsource their labor overseas.
“We have speed to market. My business is here in the United States, we don’t really export today, we’re going to work on that. But between when we receive fabric to where we ship it to our customers, we can do it basically in 60 to 90 days. If you’re making it offshore, it’s 60 to 90 days on the water, assuming it gets through the port.”
The union and local officials worked out another deal several years ago, to keep it from closure.