ORLEANS, Ind. - Office furniture maker HNI, located in Muscatine, Iowa, announced it was closing manufacturing operations at Paoli Inc., its contract furniture division located in Orleans, Indiana. The closure would affect approximately 350 workers according to published reports.

Paoli is a mid-tier performance contract office furniture brand and was established in 1926. Its product categories include casegoods, seating, and conference products. 

In an interview with the Indiana Economic Times, Gary Carlson, vice president of community relations for HNI, said the closure phase, which will start in January, was based on "business decisions."

“We want to be very transparent in this process to help our people transition,” he told the publication. “We are phasing it out, not going in and closing it immediately. We will continue to work with people on the transition and offer severance packages.”

Stan Askren, HNI Corporation chairman, president, and CEO, said in a financial press release that sales for the third quarter under performed expectations. "Economic uncertainty is weighing on our markets making them more dynamic and difficult to predict than recent periods," he said.

HNI provides products and solutions for both home and workplace environments.