GARDENA, CA—Faced with a slowdown in business and rising production costs, furniture maker Jonathan Louis International Ltd. plans to terminate the night shift at its two manufacturing and assembly facilities here, a move that will result in 329 layoffs. The workers will be let go Aug. 30, according to a June 24 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification sent to the state Employment Development Department.
The Los Angeles-based company’s products — ranging from sofas, sectionals and chairs to storage beds, chaise lounges and headboards — are sold in stores throughout Southern California. Local retailers that offer Jonathan Louis furniture include Macy’s, A Royal Suite, Furniture Gallery, Monderism, Furniture Depot, Mathis Brothers and Living Spaces.
Positions affected by the layoffs include assemblers, floor helpers, upholsterers, machine sewing operators, fabric cutters, quality control inspectors, forklift drivers, six supervisors, janitors, machine operators and foam cutters.
China provides more than 86 percent of Jonathan Louis’s materials, according to data from research firm Panjiva, and as the trade war between the U.S. and China continues, supply-chain costs have risen for manufacturers throughout the nation.
Furniture, bedding and mattresses were among the items included in the Trump administration’s recently imposed 25 percent tariff on imported Chinese goods.