| The Rhea County Newspaper |
| "Rhea County's REAL Information Source" |
It seems that the Herald-News is once again trying to "smooth" over potentially BAD news
without sensitivity for the employees of La-Z-Boy that may soon lose their jobs to Mexico.
How does the Herald-News even consider such thing as "no big deal"?
Evidently, the Herald does not pay attention to reports by the area television stations as well
as virtually every other media outlet that has reported about La-Z-Boy packing up and moving
jobs to Mexico.
The Herald-News reports that although La-Z-Boy has closed a plant in Tremonton, Utah the
changes are "not all bad for Dayton".
Once again Rhea Countians are being spoon fed mental images of how Dayton, Tennessee is
some sort of utopia and that in spite of low wages, layoffs, jobs being sent to Mexico and the
county all but broke and "milked" dry, everything is fine...
Yeah right.
Perhaps the 66 people that Huber is laying off will not be "all that bad" either. Perhaps the
reported loss of 350 jobs at the Whirlpool plant in Cleveland, TN will not be "all that bad"
either. Then again, if (or when) the Herald-News starts to layoff employees due to the new
digital information age in addition to fewer jobs means fewer people with money which
means fewer advertising dollars for these newspapers, then it may no longer be "no big
deal".
The La-Z-Boy company is on the move and that has some workers at the chairmaker's Dayton,
Tennessee plant worried about their future. No matter how this scenario is sliced, the
economy nationwide is hurting. People are losing their homes. People struggle to buy
gasoline and even must struggle to put food on the table. For the Herald-News to attempt to
downplay something as serious as the loss of jobs is an embarrassment. Any jobs lost in and
around Rhea County as a large portion of workers must commute outside of Dayton just to
find work is bad for everyone.
Perhaps we can sum the whole thing up this way: Try bending over and letting some rich
dude ram a rod up your anal canal and then have someone whisper in your ear "well, I know
it's in deep, I know it hurts and the marginal blood loss is to be expected BUT IT ISN'T THAT
BAD".
In any event, below is the complete news release announced by the "big-wigs" of La-Z-Boy.
Read it and decide for yourself but in the meantime be careful and vigilante when bending
over in Rhea County!
Here is the release issued by La-Z-Boy about the move:
LA-Z-BOY ANNOUNCES MOVES TO STRENGTHEN ITS NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS
MONROE, MI. April 2, 2008-La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) today announced two
major initiatives designed to strengthen its North American operations. The company will
consolidate all of its domestic cutting and sewing operations in Mexico and will transfer
production from its Tremonton, Utah plant, which will be closed, to its five remaining La-Z-Boy
branded upholstery manufacturing facilities.
The transition of the company's domestic cutting and sewing operations to Ramos Arizpe,
Mexico, in the State of Coahuila, will impact approximately 1,050 La-Z-Boy employees at the five
remaining facilities and will take place over a period of 18 to 24 months. La-Z-Boy expects to
begin production at its Mexican facility in early calendar 2009.
The company's Utah facility employs 630 people, accounts for 13% of the La-Z-Boy branded
business total upholstery manufacturing capacity and produces recliners, motion furniture and
stationary upholstery. La-Z-Boy will cease operations at the Utah facility during the summer of
2008 and production will be shifted to the company's remaining five facilities. As a result,
La-Z-Boy expects to add approximately 400 production positions to its other facilities.
Kurt L. Darrow, La-Z-Boy's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Speed to market for
custom orders is a tenet of our brand promise to the consumer and the strength of our U.S.
facilities enables us to deliver on that promise. With its proximity to the U.S. and the lower cost
structure inherent in a Mexican-based operation, we made the decision to transition our
domestic cutting and sewing operations while streamlining the assembly aspect of production in
the United States. Our new Mexican facility will be able to rapidly supply our domestic plants with
cut-and-sewn fabrics and leather for custom orders and will complement the existing cut-and
sew program from China, which supplies our U.S. manufacturing operations with kits for our
high-volume SKUs."
Darrow continued, "Once we made the decision to transition the domestic cut-and-sew
operations to Mexico, we analyzed our remaining total capacity. With the floor space created by
consolidating six cut-and-sew operations into one in Mexico, and with our manufacturing
facilities dedicated solely to production, we determined we could service our existing and future
demand with one less facility. Importantly, our remaining facilities will be able to increase their
capacity utilization as a result of this change.
Therefore, we made the difficult decision to close our Tremonton, Utah facility. We are confident
this reallocation of resources, combined with the many changes we have made to our production
processes, will continue to strengthen our operations. We regret the impact these moves will
have on the families and lives of those employees affected and greatly appreciate the
contribution of each employee and thank them for their years of dedicated service."
Darrow added, "With the normal attrition rate at our production facilities and the time with
which we plan to transition our cutting and sewing operations, employees working in that
capacity will have the opportunity to learn new skills and be considered for other positions
within their facilities as they become available, particularly as we shift production from Utah."
Following the closure of its Utah facility, La-Z-Boy's upholstery segment will have a total of 5.5
million square feet of upholstery manufacturing space in North America, including 4.8 million in
the United States and 700,000 square feet in Mexico and will employ approximately 8,000
people in those facilities. Darrow said, "With the breadth and size of our operation, we will
ensure that our dealers and their customers will continue to receive excellent service with
on time deliveries as we transition production between facilities.
Additionally, our manufacturing footprint will allow us to flex our capacity as we execute on our
strategic growth plan." The Utah facility, which is approximately 675,000 square feet, will be idled
after operations cease and will be marketed for sale. As a result of these actions, La-Z-Boy will
take a pre-tax restructuring charge in the range of $17 - $20 million, or $0.20 to $0.24 per share.
This charge will be principally for severance and other benefit costs and will also include
training costs to begin production in the other facilities, the write-down of certain fixed assets
and other associated costs. As the plant is closed and the cut-and-sew operations are
transferred, these charges will be incurred as follows: $2.0 - $2.5 million in the fourth quarter of
fiscal 2008; $9.0 - $10.0 million in fiscal 2009; and the balance in 2010. Once these moves are
completed, the company expects to realize in excess of $25 million in annual cost savings, with
the full benefit beginning in fiscal 2011.
Forward-looking Information
Any forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on current information
and assumptions and represent management's best judgment at the present time. Actual results
could differ materially from those anticipated or projected due to a number of factors. These
factors include, but are not limited to: (a) changes in consumer confidence; (b) changes in
demographics; (c) changes in housing sales; (d) the impact of terrorism or war; (e) continued
energy price changes; (f) the impact of logistics on imports; (g) the impact of interest rate
changes; (h) changes in currency exchange rates; (i) competitive factors; (j) operating factors,
such as supply, labor or distribution disruptions including changes in operating conditions or
costs; (k) effects of restructuring actions; (l) changes in the domestic or international regulatory
environment; (m) ability to implement global sourcing organization strategies; (n) fair value
changes to our intangible assets due to actual results differing from projected; (o) the impact of
adopting new accounting principles; (p) the impact from natural events such as hurricanes,
earthquakes and tornadoes; (q) the impact of retail store relocation costs, the success of new
stores or the timing of converting stores to the New Generation format; (r) the ability to procure
fabric rolls or cut and sewn fabric sets domestically or abroad; (s) those matters discussed under
"Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report of Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q and factors relating to acquisitions and other factors identified from time
to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, either to reflect new
developments or for any other reason.
Additional Information
This news release is just one part of La-Z-Boy's financial disclosures and should be read in
conjunction with other information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is
available at http://www.la-z-boy.com/about/investorRelations/sec_filings.aspx. Investors and
others wishing to be notified of future La-Z-Boy news releases, SEC filings and quarterly
investor conference calls may sign up at:
http://www.la-z-boy.com/about/investorRelations/IR_email_alerts.aspx.
Background Information
La-Z-Boy Incorporated is one of the world's leading residential furniture producers, marketing
furniture for every room of the home. The La-Z-Boy Upholstery Group companies are Bauhaus,
England, La-Z-Boy and La-Z-Boy, U.K. The La-Z-Boy Casegoods Group companies are
American Drew, Hammary, Kincaid and Lea.
The corporation's proprietary distribution network is dedicated exclusively to selling La-Z-Boy
Incorporated products and brands, and includes 336 stand-alone La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries®
stores, 168 La-Z-Boy In-Store Galleries and 186 Comfort Studios, in addition to in-store gallery
programs at the company's Kincaid, England and Lea operating units. According to industry
trade publication In Furniture, the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries retail network is North
America's largest single-brand furniture store chain.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I just finished reading this entire release and it is full of fancy sounding words designed
to ease the pain of the truth. It almost read like a political speech. It is our opinion that the
local news media has lost it's influence as well as it's credibility. The next thing Rhea
Countians can look forward to is a knock at your door with Billy Ray Patton trying to convince
you that a half-cent isn't nothing...
It's your money, or is it?
without sensitivity for the employees of La-Z-Boy that may soon lose their jobs to Mexico.
How does the Herald-News even consider such thing as "no big deal"?
Evidently, the Herald does not pay attention to reports by the area television stations as well
as virtually every other media outlet that has reported about La-Z-Boy packing up and moving
jobs to Mexico.
The Herald-News reports that although La-Z-Boy has closed a plant in Tremonton, Utah the
changes are "not all bad for Dayton".
Once again Rhea Countians are being spoon fed mental images of how Dayton, Tennessee is
some sort of utopia and that in spite of low wages, layoffs, jobs being sent to Mexico and the
county all but broke and "milked" dry, everything is fine...
Yeah right.
Perhaps the 66 people that Huber is laying off will not be "all that bad" either. Perhaps the
reported loss of 350 jobs at the Whirlpool plant in Cleveland, TN will not be "all that bad"
either. Then again, if (or when) the Herald-News starts to layoff employees due to the new
digital information age in addition to fewer jobs means fewer people with money which
means fewer advertising dollars for these newspapers, then it may no longer be "no big
deal".
The La-Z-Boy company is on the move and that has some workers at the chairmaker's Dayton,
Tennessee plant worried about their future. No matter how this scenario is sliced, the
economy nationwide is hurting. People are losing their homes. People struggle to buy
gasoline and even must struggle to put food on the table. For the Herald-News to attempt to
downplay something as serious as the loss of jobs is an embarrassment. Any jobs lost in and
around Rhea County as a large portion of workers must commute outside of Dayton just to
find work is bad for everyone.
Perhaps we can sum the whole thing up this way: Try bending over and letting some rich
dude ram a rod up your anal canal and then have someone whisper in your ear "well, I know
it's in deep, I know it hurts and the marginal blood loss is to be expected BUT IT ISN'T THAT
BAD".
In any event, below is the complete news release announced by the "big-wigs" of La-Z-Boy.
Read it and decide for yourself but in the meantime be careful and vigilante when bending
over in Rhea County!
Here is the release issued by La-Z-Boy about the move:
LA-Z-BOY ANNOUNCES MOVES TO STRENGTHEN ITS NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS
MONROE, MI. April 2, 2008-La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) today announced two
major initiatives designed to strengthen its North American operations. The company will
consolidate all of its domestic cutting and sewing operations in Mexico and will transfer
production from its Tremonton, Utah plant, which will be closed, to its five remaining La-Z-Boy
branded upholstery manufacturing facilities.
The transition of the company's domestic cutting and sewing operations to Ramos Arizpe,
Mexico, in the State of Coahuila, will impact approximately 1,050 La-Z-Boy employees at the five
remaining facilities and will take place over a period of 18 to 24 months. La-Z-Boy expects to
begin production at its Mexican facility in early calendar 2009.
The company's Utah facility employs 630 people, accounts for 13% of the La-Z-Boy branded
business total upholstery manufacturing capacity and produces recliners, motion furniture and
stationary upholstery. La-Z-Boy will cease operations at the Utah facility during the summer of
2008 and production will be shifted to the company's remaining five facilities. As a result,
La-Z-Boy expects to add approximately 400 production positions to its other facilities.
Kurt L. Darrow, La-Z-Boy's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Speed to market for
custom orders is a tenet of our brand promise to the consumer and the strength of our U.S.
facilities enables us to deliver on that promise. With its proximity to the U.S. and the lower cost
structure inherent in a Mexican-based operation, we made the decision to transition our
domestic cutting and sewing operations while streamlining the assembly aspect of production in
the United States. Our new Mexican facility will be able to rapidly supply our domestic plants with
cut-and-sewn fabrics and leather for custom orders and will complement the existing cut-and
sew program from China, which supplies our U.S. manufacturing operations with kits for our
high-volume SKUs."
Darrow continued, "Once we made the decision to transition the domestic cut-and-sew
operations to Mexico, we analyzed our remaining total capacity. With the floor space created by
consolidating six cut-and-sew operations into one in Mexico, and with our manufacturing
facilities dedicated solely to production, we determined we could service our existing and future
demand with one less facility. Importantly, our remaining facilities will be able to increase their
capacity utilization as a result of this change.
Therefore, we made the difficult decision to close our Tremonton, Utah facility. We are confident
this reallocation of resources, combined with the many changes we have made to our production
processes, will continue to strengthen our operations. We regret the impact these moves will
have on the families and lives of those employees affected and greatly appreciate the
contribution of each employee and thank them for their years of dedicated service."
Darrow added, "With the normal attrition rate at our production facilities and the time with
which we plan to transition our cutting and sewing operations, employees working in that
capacity will have the opportunity to learn new skills and be considered for other positions
within their facilities as they become available, particularly as we shift production from Utah."
Following the closure of its Utah facility, La-Z-Boy's upholstery segment will have a total of 5.5
million square feet of upholstery manufacturing space in North America, including 4.8 million in
the United States and 700,000 square feet in Mexico and will employ approximately 8,000
people in those facilities. Darrow said, "With the breadth and size of our operation, we will
ensure that our dealers and their customers will continue to receive excellent service with
on time deliveries as we transition production between facilities.
Additionally, our manufacturing footprint will allow us to flex our capacity as we execute on our
strategic growth plan." The Utah facility, which is approximately 675,000 square feet, will be idled
after operations cease and will be marketed for sale. As a result of these actions, La-Z-Boy will
take a pre-tax restructuring charge in the range of $17 - $20 million, or $0.20 to $0.24 per share.
This charge will be principally for severance and other benefit costs and will also include
training costs to begin production in the other facilities, the write-down of certain fixed assets
and other associated costs. As the plant is closed and the cut-and-sew operations are
transferred, these charges will be incurred as follows: $2.0 - $2.5 million in the fourth quarter of
fiscal 2008; $9.0 - $10.0 million in fiscal 2009; and the balance in 2010. Once these moves are
completed, the company expects to realize in excess of $25 million in annual cost savings, with
the full benefit beginning in fiscal 2011.
Forward-looking Information
Any forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on current information
and assumptions and represent management's best judgment at the present time. Actual results
could differ materially from those anticipated or projected due to a number of factors. These
factors include, but are not limited to: (a) changes in consumer confidence; (b) changes in
demographics; (c) changes in housing sales; (d) the impact of terrorism or war; (e) continued
energy price changes; (f) the impact of logistics on imports; (g) the impact of interest rate
changes; (h) changes in currency exchange rates; (i) competitive factors; (j) operating factors,
such as supply, labor or distribution disruptions including changes in operating conditions or
costs; (k) effects of restructuring actions; (l) changes in the domestic or international regulatory
environment; (m) ability to implement global sourcing organization strategies; (n) fair value
changes to our intangible assets due to actual results differing from projected; (o) the impact of
adopting new accounting principles; (p) the impact from natural events such as hurricanes,
earthquakes and tornadoes; (q) the impact of retail store relocation costs, the success of new
stores or the timing of converting stores to the New Generation format; (r) the ability to procure
fabric rolls or cut and sewn fabric sets domestically or abroad; (s) those matters discussed under
"Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report of Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q and factors relating to acquisitions and other factors identified from time
to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, either to reflect new
developments or for any other reason.
Additional Information
This news release is just one part of La-Z-Boy's financial disclosures and should be read in
conjunction with other information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is
available at http://www.la-z-boy.com/about/investorRelations/sec_filings.aspx. Investors and
others wishing to be notified of future La-Z-Boy news releases, SEC filings and quarterly
investor conference calls may sign up at:
http://www.la-z-boy.com/about/investorRelations/IR_email_alerts.aspx.
Background Information
La-Z-Boy Incorporated is one of the world's leading residential furniture producers, marketing
furniture for every room of the home. The La-Z-Boy Upholstery Group companies are Bauhaus,
England, La-Z-Boy and La-Z-Boy, U.K. The La-Z-Boy Casegoods Group companies are
American Drew, Hammary, Kincaid and Lea.
The corporation's proprietary distribution network is dedicated exclusively to selling La-Z-Boy
Incorporated products and brands, and includes 336 stand-alone La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries®
stores, 168 La-Z-Boy In-Store Galleries and 186 Comfort Studios, in addition to in-store gallery
programs at the company's Kincaid, England and Lea operating units. According to industry
trade publication In Furniture, the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries retail network is North
America's largest single-brand furniture store chain.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I just finished reading this entire release and it is full of fancy sounding words designed
to ease the pain of the truth. It almost read like a political speech. It is our opinion that the
local news media has lost it's influence as well as it's credibility. The next thing Rhea
Countians can look forward to is a knock at your door with Billy Ray Patton trying to convince
you that a half-cent isn't nothing...
It's your money, or is it?
| La-Z-Boy Jobs Lost in Dayton, No Big Deal? |
