VF Corporation, Greensboro, N.C., the parent company of JanSport, announced Tuesday that it would be closing its JanSport collegiate apparel operations in Appleton, Wis.
According to Fox 11, the closure will put 380 employees out of work. VF Corp. also announced its plans to sell its licensed sports group business to Fanatics Inc. As a result, VF Corp.’s company structure must undergo a change.
“Because of these fluctuations in our business, we have initiated some actions across parts of our operations at our VF Outdoor facility in Appleton,” said Vanessa McCuthcen, spokesperson for VF Corp. “These actions include ceasing our apparel decoration operations at the VF Outdoor facility in Appleton later this year. This also includes our JanSport Collegiate Licensed Apparel business, which will be winding down business in the coming months.”
The company plans to keep the VF Outdoor facility in Greenville, S.C., which employs 370 people, in operation.
For those 380 employees working in the collegiate apparel division, layoffs will begin in June.
“While we regret that these actions will impact associates and their families, we are confident that this is the right strategic direction for VF,” the company said in a statement.
Layoffs are a common and unfortunate result of corporate deals, but Jim Golembeski, executive director of the Bay Area Workforce Development Board believes the employees will bounce back.
“There are a lot of really good employment opportunities,” he said. “We’ll be sending a team in to talk with the workers about what kind of services are available to them, whether it’s help in getting a new job, or retraining for something.”
