Athens, GA, December 15--Managers with the Athens Invista facility on Voyles Road notified approximately 35 employees with the textile manufacturing facility that their jobs were eliminated, effective Monday, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
The layoffs represent a 12 percent work-force reduction from the 300-plus employees at Invista, which formerly operated as DuPont. Invista corporate officials cited the reason for the layoffs as a need to "maintain the site's competitiveness" in a news release issued Monday.
The Athens plant has been in production since 1973 and involves two divisions which make "non-woven" products using nylon fibers. A flooring business blends three or four yarns for the commercial carpet industry. The apparel division "beams" yarn for use by fabric mills for weaving into clothing.
The former DuPont subsidiary began operating under the name Invista in late 2003. In April, DuPont sold the Invista division to subsidiaries of Koch Industries Inc. of Wichita, Kan. Koch Industries merged Invista with KoSa, Koch's polyester manufacturing division.
