Koch Industries in North Carolina: Layoffs, Part 2

Laying off hundreds of workers from Georgia-Pacific and Invista to help their bottom line is only the start of the impact Koch Industries and its business practices have had on North Carolina workers and families.

A company called KoSa, which Koch Industries acquired in 2001, laid off 180 workers from its Shelby, N.C. polyester plant the same year Koch Industries acquired it, cutting more than 25% of its workforce at the plant. The company followed up with another 150 layoffs from the plant in 2003. Not too far away in Salisbury, another Koch Industries subsidiary, Invista, has steadily reduced the number of employees at its polyester fiber plant. In 2003, when Koch Industries announced it would purchase the then-DuPont subsidiary Invista, the company reportedly threatened 49 workers with downsizing unless they accepted early retirement. Between 2005 and 2007, the number of workers employed at the plant reduced by 450. Shortly thereafter, the Kochs sold the plant to a private equity firm which has since laid off hundreds more employees.

With hundreds of North Carolina layoffs to their name, shouldn’t the Koch Brothers leave well enough alone in the state?

Koch Subsidiary Laid Off Hundreds Of Workers From Two Industrial Polyester Plants In North Carolina

Shelby Polyester Plant

Koch Subsidiary Laid Off 330 People From Shelby, North Carolina Polyester Plant In 2001 And 2003

Koch Industries Owned 50% Stake In KoSa Before September 2001, And Subsequently Became Sole Owner Of KoSa. According to the Wichita Business Journal, “Koch International Equity Investments BV and Koch Equities Inc., both subsidiaries of Wichita-based Koch Industries Inc., have acquired the 50 percent ownership interest in KoSa held by IMASAB S.A. de C.V., making them owners of KoSa. KoSa, which is based in Houston, makes commodity and specialty polyester products as part of four global businesses: packaging resins, technical fibers, textile fibers and intermediates and polymer. The sale is subject to regulatory approval. A closing is expected in the next two months.” [Wichita Business Journal, 9/25/01]

KoSa Laid Off 180 Workers From Its Shelby, North Carolina Polyester Plant In March And April 2001. According to the Charlotte Business Journal, “Polyester fiber maker KoSa Ltd. will cut more than 25% of its 700-person work force in Shelby as it refocuses its efforts on more profitable products. KoSa will lay off 180 hourly and salaried employees during the coming two months as it sheds its commodity polyester fiber products and concentrates on specialty lines, says Erica Luongo, a company spokeswoman. KoSa, which in December said it would spent $135 million to modernize the plant, will first seek volunteers for the job cuts. The plant, a part of KoSa’s textile filament division, makes polyester fibers used in seat belts, awnings, lawn chairs and soft-sided trucks. Houston-based KoSa has its regional headquarters in Charlotte. The company’s other Carolinas plants are in Salisbury, Wilmington and Spartanburg, S.C.” [Charlotte Business Journal, 2/27/01]

KoSa Laid Off 150 Workers From Its Shelby Plant In 2003. According to the Charlotte Business Journal, “KoSa will discontinue a polyester thread production line in its Shelby plant and lay off 150 employees by the end of the year. The company, a polyester fiber producer with a regional headquarters in Charlotte, will provide severance packages to laid-off workers. ‘This decision, while extremely difficult, is necessary to ensure the company’s long-term business success,’ says Marc Simpson, KoSa’s Shelby site production manager. ‘We value all employees and the contributions they have made to the Shelby site, but today’s challenging textile industry mandates this move.’ After the layoffs, the plant will employ 180. The Shelby site will continue to produce low denier industrial filament polyester for sewing thread and other industrial applications.” [Charlotte Business Journal, 10/10/03]

Salisbury Polyester Plant

Koch Subsidiary ‘Invista’ Owned Polyester Plant In Salisbury, North Carolina

INVISTA Was An ‘Indirect Wholly Owned Subsidiary’ Of Koch Industries. According to Troubled Company Reporter, “INVISTA is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of privately held, unrated Koch Industries Inc.” [Troubled Company Reporter, 9/5/11]

INVISTA Operated Polyester Fiber Plant In Salisbury, North Carolina. According to the Salisbury Post, “Invista, a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, operates its Salisbury polyester fiber plant off U.S. 70. The plant started as Fiber Industries in 1966 and also went by Hoechst Celanese for many years. Koch Industries has had an ownership interest since December 1998, though the plant has never gone by that name. Trivera and KoSa have been other names in its more recent history. […] In 2001 Koch bought out Saba. In 2003, Koch announced it would buy a DuPont division called Invista and apply that name to the local plant.” [Salisbury Post, 9/16/05]

Koch Industries Possessed Ownership Interest In Salisbury Plant Beginning In 1998. According to the Salisbury Post, “Invista, a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, operates its Salisbury polyester fiber plant off U.S. 70. The plant started as Fiber Industries in 1966 and also went by Hoechst Celanese for many years. Koch Industries has had an ownership interest since December 1998, though the plant has never gone by that name.” [Salisbury Post, 9/16/05]

Koch Industries Acquired Full Ownership Of Salisbury Plant In 2001. According to the Salisbury Post, “In 2001 Koch bought out Saba. In 2003, Koch announced it would buy a DuPont division called Invista and apply that name to the local plant.” [Salisbury Post, 9/16/05]

Koch Industries Acquired Related Division Of DuPont In 2003 And Changed The Name Of The Subsidiary Owner Of Salisbury Plant To Invista. According to the Salisbury Post, “In 2001 Koch bought out Saba. In 2003, Koch announced it would buy a DuPont division called Invista and apply that name to the local plant.” [Salisbury Post, 9/16/05]

Salisbury Plant Made Tire Cord And Technical Filament Out Of Polyester Yarn. According to the Salisbury Post, “In an economy where change is the watchword, one of Rowan County’s success stories is KoSa. […] And the plant also produces two other types of products: * Tire cord, which it sells to almost every major tire manufacturer in the United States. The KoSa plant remains one of the largest producers of tire cord in the country and the world. * Technical filament, or specially engineered fibers, that go into products as varied as fabric roofs and tents, flexible signs and billboards, truck tarpaulins, reinforced belts and hoses and even automobile air bags. In the past two years, the company has invested $80 million in new equipment that now enables it to produce the best polyester yarn in North America and compete with newer plants in Asia, according to Plant Manager Tony Branecky.” [Salisbury Post, 6/25/02]

Threats Of Early Retirement Or Downsizing

In 2003, Koch Industries Threatened 49 Workers At Salisbury Plant With Downsizing Unless They Accepted Early Retirement. According to the Salisbury Post, “In 2003, Koch announced it would buy a DuPont division called Invista and apply that name to the local plant. […] Hughes says the company pushed workers to take early retirement, telling 49 in the maintenance department they could ‘leave gracefully’ or be victims of downsizing.” [Salisbury Post, 9/16/05]

Koch Industries Informed Workers At Salisbury Plant That They Could ‘Leave Gracefully’ Or Risk Being ‘Victims Of Downsizing.’ According to the Salisbury Post, “In 2003, Koch announced it would buy a DuPont division called Invista and apply that name to the local plant. […] Hughes says the company pushed workers to take early retirement, telling 49 in the maintenance department they could ‘leave gracefully’ or be victims of downsizing.” [Salisbury Post, 9/16/05]

Declining Employment Figures At Salisbury Plant Under Koch Industries

2005: 1,200 Employees

In 2005, Total Number Of Employees At Salisbury Plant Was 1,200. According to the Salisbury Post, “Invista produces polyester at the Salisbury plant. It changed its name from KoSa to Invista in May 2004 when DuPont sold a subsidiary, DuPont Textiles Interiors, to Koch Industries Inc. Koch then combined DuPont Textiles with some of its subsidiaries, including KoSa, to create Invista. As of January, Invista in Salisbury was Rowan County’s sixth largest employer with 1,200 employees.” [Salisbury Post, 6/4/05]

2007: 750 Employees

In 2007, Total Number Of Employees At Salisbury Plant Was 750. According to the Salisbury Post, “The top 72 employers in Rowan County have shed 1,045 jobs from last year, according to figures compiled by the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce. […] The other companies in the top 10 remained mostly unchanged from last year: […] Performance Fibers at 660 (which dropped one spot while changing its name from Invista and having 750 total employees last year).” [Salisbury Post, 9/26/08]

2007 Sale And Continued Decline In Employment

Koch Subsidiary Sold The Salisbury Plant To Private Equity Firm In December 2007

Koch Subsidiary Sold Salisbury Plant To Performance Fibers Holdings Inc In December 2007. According to the Salisbury Post, “An affiliate of Performance Fibers Holdings Inc. announced Monday it will buy the North America tire cord and polyester industrial filament businesses of Invista, including manufacturing facilities in Salisbury, Shelby and and Winnsboro, S.C.” [Salisbury Post, 12/4/07]

Performance Fibers Was Owned By Private Equity Firm Sun Capital Partners. According to Performance Fibers, “Sun Capital Partners is a leading private investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts, private equity, debt and other investments in market-leading companies. In December of 2004 an affiliate of Sun Capital acquired Performance Fibers from Honeywell International. Since then, Sun Capital Partners has been working with Performance Fibers to strengthen their business model and improve market position.” [Performance Fibers, Viewed 4/1/14]

Private Equity Firm Laid Off Hundreds More Employees At Salisbury Plant

December 2007: Salisbury Plant Was The Sixth Largest Employer In Rowan County At Time Of Sale, Employing Around 800 Workers. According to the Salisbury Post, “The Invista plant on U.S. 70 between Salisbury and Statesville reportedly employs 800 people and is the sixth largest employer in Rowan County, according to the Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Commission.” [Salisbury Post, 12/4/07]

2008: Rowan County Chamber Of Commerce Estimated 660 Employees At Salisbury Plant.
According to the Henderson Daily Dispatch, “Performance Fibers didn’t say how many employees worked at the plant but the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce estimated it at 660 a year ago.” [Henderson Daily Dispatch, 1/30/09]

160 Of Those Employees Were Contracted. According to the Salisbury Post, “A 2008 Rowan County Chamber of Commerce survey put the number of employees at Performance Fibers at 660, including 160 contracted employees. It was listed as Rowan County’s seventh largest employer.” [Salisbury Post, 12/2/09]

2008: Salisbury Plant Had Fallen To The Seventh Largest Employer In Rowan County. According to the Salisbury Post, “A 2008 Rowan County Chamber of Commerce survey put the number of employees at Performance Fibers at 660, including 160 contracted employees. It was listed as Rowan County’s seventh largest employer.” [Salisbury Post, 12/2/09]

January 2009: Performance Fibers Laid Off 20% Of Its Workforce At Salisbury Plant. According to the Henderson Daily Dispatch, “An industrial fiber manufacturer says it will lay off 20 percent of its work force at a North Carolina plant. The Salisbury Post reported Thursday that Performance Fibers of Richmond, Va., said the cuts were effective immediately. The firm manufactures polyester fiber used in tires, conveyor belts, fire hoses and safety belts. Company spokesman Jay Pomeroy said the layoffs were tied more to long term profitability and customer service than the current economic recession.” [Henderson Daily Dispatch, 1/30/09]

2012: Performance Fibers Salisbury Plant Was No Longer One Of The Top 10 Employers In Rowan County. According to Rowan Works Economic Development, “Major Employers and Industries 2012 […] Company Name: 1. Food Lion 2. Rowan Salisbury Schools 3. Daimler Trucks 2572 Vehicle Manufacturing 4. W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center 5. Rowan Regional Medical Center 6. Rowan Cabarrus Community College 7. Rowan County 8. Magna Composites LLC 9. Piedmont Correctional Institute 10. City of Salisbury.” [Rowan Works Economic Development, Viewed 4/1/14]

October 2013: Salisbury Plant Employed Only 234 People. According to the Salisbury Post, “After laying off 36 people in August, Performance Fibers in Salisbury has eliminated 16 more jobs because of declining demand for the product they make, a company official said. […] The second round of layoffs leaves 234 employees at the plant, which operates around the clock. Pennington said he does not expect any additional job losses. ‘That’s hard to say. Today, I will tell you we don’t anticipate any,’ he said. ‘If business changes dramatically, that could change.’ The company has locations on several continents, but only Salisbury was affected by the layoffs. Performance Fibers bought the plant in 2008. Before that, it was known as Invista. According to Salisbury Post files, 550 people worked at the plant at that time, not including contract employees.” [Salisbury Post, 10/1/13]

36 Employees At Salisbury Plant Were Laid Off In August 2013, And 16 More Employees Were Laid Off In October 2013. According to the Salisbury Post, “After laying off 36 people in August, Performance Fibers in Salisbury has eliminated 16 more jobs because of declining demand for the product they make, a company official said. The plant laid off the 16 additional full-time, hourly workers Sept. 12 and 13, according to Tony Pennington, human resources director for the Americas at Performance Fibers.” [Salisbury Post, 10/2/13]

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