American Apparel is laying off 180 workers at its downtown Los Angeles clothing factory. The company employs 4,300 workers at its manufacturing facilities and offices and a total of 10,000 workers in its various divisions and retail stores worldwide.

The company is managing a severe decline in sales that has taken place under the stewardship of a hedge fund. The apparel venture manufactures leggings, underwear and swimwear, T-shirts, blue jeans and dresses in 4000 styles. It wholesales its garments and sells them at 239 American Apparel stores located in 20 countries. Layoffs are not new to American Apparel. In 2013, 160 employees were laid off, and in 2014, 238 employees were laid off.

This change is meant to help restore the financial health of the company. It has seen losses of more than 300 million dollars over the past five years. The company was founded in 1998. In recent years it has seen increased competition from fast fashion retailers.

For the fourth quarter, American Apparel had a net loss of $28 million on $153.5 million in sales compared with a net loss of $20 million on $169.1 million in sales for the same period in 2013.
www.americanapparel.net/