Drexel Heritage Furniture Plant Set to Close
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Drexel Heritage Furniture Plant Set to CloseMORGANTON, NC - Heritage Home Group is closing the Drexel Heritage plant in Morganton, NC, resulting in the layoff of 87 employees. The residential furniture plant is scheduled to close July 31.

The company filed a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice on May 30 with the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The Winston-Salem Journal identified the facility as the Drexel Heritage 60/63 plant in Morganton.

This marks the sixth facility closure filed this year by the owners of the former Furniture Brands International properties: Thomasville, Lane, Broyhill, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, Pearson, Hickory Chair, Lane Venture, Maitland-Smith and LaBarge.

Heritage Home Group announced in January it was shuttering two Thomasville Furniture factories in Thomasville, NC, and the Lane Furniture operation in Saltillo, MS, as part of its restructuring. Approximately 564 employees were affected by the March closures. A statement at the time by CEO Ira Glazer noted: "These reductions are unfortunately a necessary element of our ongoing efforts to create a highly competitive organization structure. That said, we are proud that many jobs saved by the formation of Heritage Home and the acquisition of our brands far exceeds the number that are being let go."

Another WARN notice, filed on March 24, announced the closure of Pearson's High Point facility, resulting in the layoff of 86 employees by Aug. 30. And in April, Heritage Home Group announced it was moving its headquarters from St. Louis to North Carolina, resulting in more than 150 layoffs in the area.

Heritage Home Group was formed in November 2013 following the purchase by KPS of the bankrupt Furniture Brands International. As part of the wind-down and liquidation process, the company is in the process of auctioning off 17 properties, including prime Thomasville and Lane furniture facilities in Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The properties, which total more than 2.4 million square feet, along with woodworking equipment, is being auctioned through Hilco.

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