Munro & Co. officials announced Thursday that more than half the employees at its Lake Catherine Footwear facility will be permanently laid off over the next six months.
Bruce Munro, CEO of Munro & Co., a domestic shoe manufacturer and importer headquartered in Hot Springs, said in a news release that about 56 employees will be affected by the permanent layoffs, with the first round expected to take place no sooner than June 16, followed by a second round of separations in July.
By September, the Lake Catherine facility will employ approximately 30 employees, and an estimated 11 jobs will be transferred to the company's Clarksville facility.
The company, at one point in the late 1990s, distributed more than 4 million shoes worldwide from seven plants.
"Economic forces in the international shoe industry have forced us to move some components of our operations to the Dominican Republic to remain competitive," Munro said in the release.
The principal brand of Munro & Co. is the Munro American brand of women's footwear, which is available in department stores and specialty boutiques nationwide.
"We are one of the very few remaining domestic shoe manufacturers in America and we are committed to maintaining as large a domestic presence as is competitively feasible -- but that comes with a price," Munro said.
"To remain a viable company and retain our reputation for manufacturing very high-quality footwear known for its exceptional fit, we must be as cost-efficient as possible to maintain competitive pricing."
By the end of the year, Munro & Co. will still have 80 employees at its facilities in Hot Springs and more than 120 at its manufacturing plant in Clarksville.
"We're working with several smaller manufacturing companies that are adding folks so there should be some opportunities out there," Jim Fram, CEO of The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday.
"Obviously you hate to hear of any layoffs or downsizing, but as the news release said, it's a very highly competitive market, and a global market, so the best way we can react is to make sure we're on top of things and helping companies be as state-of-the-art as they can be," he said.
Fram said the chamber is also working with others to make sure that people who are impacted by the layoff "land in the best possible position they can."
"In today's market, there are very, very few companies in the continental United States in the shoe, clothing, or textile manufacturing that haven't moved offshore. The manufacturing base here is more high tech oriented and requires higher skills and higher wages and that sort of thing," he said.
Fram said the chamber would also do "everything we can" to help connect with other employers in the area to lessen the impact as much as possible.
Local on 04/18/2014