Valley, Ala. – Alabama's textile industry is taking another big hit. Hundreds of people are losing their jobs in yet another round of plant closings.
The Wellstone Mills plant in Eufaula closed earlier this month, eliminating 117 workers.
Another 850 jobs will be slashed in Valley as WestPoint Home closes a pair of factories in February. And Springs Global will close a yarn plant in Piedmont in April, costing 325 jobs.
Springs Global vice president Roland Meyers blames the closing on foreign competition.
The state says there were about 36,000 textile jobs in Alabama at the end of October. But manufacturers already have notified officials of plans to eliminate 3,600 textile jobs this year.
In all, a trade group says the United States has lost more than 1 million textile jobs since 1994. That's when the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect, eliminating tariffs on goods traded between the United States, Mexico and Canada.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)