Polartec LLC officially notified the state that it plans to lay off more than 200 employees this summer and shut down all manufacturing operations at its Lawrence textile plant by the end of the year.
In a notice to state labor officials submitted May 13, the company said it would begin a “significant layoff’’ starting July 18 at its manufacturing complex on Stafford Street in Lawrence, on the Methuen line. The layoffs are expected to affect around 230 positions, the company stated, adding it may change plans subject to “various factors.’’
The notice comes five months after Polartec first announced it would shut operations in Lawrence and move the work to plants in Hudson, N.H., and Tennessee. The company cited market pressure and a vast amount of unused space at the Lawrence complex as the reasons for the move.
The former Malden Mills facility and former third-generation owner Aaron Feuerstein made global headlines 20 years ago when Feuerstein continued to pay the salaries of thousands of his employees after a raging winter blaze gutted much of the complex, halting production.
Ethan Snow, chief of staff of the New England Joint Board of Unite Here, the union representing about 250 workers in Lawrence and Hudson, said he wasn’t surprised to receive the layoff notice from Polartec.
“They told us they’d be leaving. It’s just a date to us, really,’’ Snow said.
The union is focused on trying to persuade Polartec to stay in Lawrence, which Snow said was at “full capacity’’ only a month ago, so busy that employees were filing for overtime.
“Our number one goal is to try to pressure the company to keep jobs here,’’ Snow said. “We think it’s a decision that can be reversed.’’
Polartec is one of the largest private employers in the Merrimack Valley, with about 300 full-time and seasonal workers, many of them immigrants, who make up to $15 an hour with benefits, Snow said. The average length of employment is 18 years, but several employees have been there up to 40 years, he added.
Polartec makes fleece for apparel for the military and sold by retailers including Patagonia, L.L. Bean, and The North Face. Polartec was purchased by a private equity investment firm in 2007.
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKConti.
