Thomasville Furniture puts workers on 90-day furlough

By: LYNCHBURG NEWS & ADVANCE | WSLS
Published: December 31, 2009

Many employees of Thomasville Furniture in Appomattox have been placed on a 90-day furlough that could become a permanent layoff.

Earlier this month, the company notified employees of the unpaid leave, which began shortly afterward, said John Hastings, spokesman for Thomasville’s parent company Furniture Brands International.

He did not know the exact date the furloughs began, he said.

Hastings would not say how many people were affected. “We don’t disclose headcount actions on a plant-specific basis, but I can confirm that the number of employees affected by the furlough represents a significant number of the total work force,” he said in an e-mail.

The Virginia Employment Commission reports that Thomasville Furniture has between 250 and 499 employees. Hastings said that is the correct range but that the company does not release specific numbers of employees at each facility.

The furlough only affects the Appomattox facility, Hastings said. It makes only ready-to-assemble furniture, and “the market for ready-to-assemble furniture has been very, very slow,” Hastings said.

The future of the employees’ jobs depends on what happens in the market for ready-to-assemble furniture in the next few months.

“Depending on business conditions at the end of the 90-day period,

those workers could be brought back to their former position, or it could turn into a permanent layoff,” Hastings said.

In December 2008, Furniture Brands International announced that it would lay off about 1,400 employees company-wide, including some at Thomasville Furniture in Appomattox.

The company did not identify the number of employees laid off, but some in the Appomattox community said 100 to 150 were affected.