Bitter Fruit

Fruit of the Loom Ltd. (Bowling Green, Ky.) is closing a factory in Fayette, Ala., in the face of continued weakness in textile and apparel sales.

The shutdown has begun and will be complete by April 28. The company says the plant's 290 employees will be given severance packages that include pay and benefits.

Since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 1999, the apparel maker has been restructuring operations and refocusing on its core product lines. In November, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. announced plans to acquire Fruit of the Loom out of bankruptcy for about $840 million.

Fruit of the Loom is not alone in shuttering U.S. facilities. Last year, the domestic textile industry lost 148,000 jobs and more than 100 mills.