Historically low levels of consumer confidence, housing activity and personal disposable income has led to an industry-wide weakness in consumer demand for residential furniture not seen since the early '80s.
Jeffrey R. Scheffer, CEO, Stanley Furniture

Stanley Furniture Company (Nasdaq:STLY) will close its Lexington, N.C. manufacturing operation, consolidating it with the company's Robbinsville, N.C. facility. The plant closure will result in the loss of 350 jobs over the next two to three months.

In addition, Stanley Furniture is eliminating two executive positions and offering a voluntary early retirement incentive for qualified salaried associates.

"Historically low levels of consumer confidence, housing activity and personal disposable income has led to an industry-wide weakness in consumer demand for residential furniture not seen since the early '80s," explained Stanley Furniture's president and CEO Jeffrey R. Scheffer. "We are making difficult moves from top to bottom and throughout our business to remain profitable now and to be well-positioned for continued success when demand eventually improves."

Scheffer continued, "Our commitment to domestic manufacturing (which accounts for about two-thirds of our revenues) means that we must continue to manage our costs through improved work flow, labor productivity, and better asset utilization."

The Company plans to retain its warehousing facility with about 20 associates at a separate location in Lexington, N.C. Responsibilities of the two executive positions being eliminated, VP of Purchasing and VP of Human Resources, will be absorbed by other members of the management team.

The company stated in will apply for federal Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) under the Trade Act. If certified, associates may be eligible to receive extended income support through Trade Readjustment Allowances, training programs, job search allowances and/or relocation allowances. Some Lexington associates may be eligible for positions in Robbinsville, N.C. or Stanleytown, VA.

"We have worked closely with the state of North Carolina, Graham County, and the Town of Robbinsville to expand our production and employment at the Robbinsville, N.C. facility to accommodate the production being moved from Lexington," says Scheffer. "We anticipate adding approximately 200 new jobs in Robbinsville over the next couple of years and continuing to make substantial investments in workforce training, facilities and equipment to support our industry leading Young America line of infant and youth furniture."