More change is afoot at American Apparel.
The company’s longtime head of manufacturing is set to leave the Los Angeles-based firm. Martin “Marty” Bailey, who served in the position since 2007 and before that was manufacturing president and vice president of operations revealed his resignation in a memo sent to employees and obtained by WWD this week. The letter is dated Tuesday with Bailey set to depart on Monday.
Bailey detailed his background at the company as well as the 15 years before American Apparel spent at Fruit of the Loom in his memo.
“I mention this because I truly feel that I have another 15 good years and it’s time that I dedicated the last phase of my career to building my own company,” Bailey said. “I am excited for this and this is something that I have considered for some time. I have been committed to remaining with American Apparel through its financial restructuring, and now I am confident that I leave you in the good hands of [chief executive officer] Paula [Schneider] and her management team.”
Related Galleries
The company said in a statement: “American Apparel’s management team is deeply appreciative of Marty Bailey’s longstanding service and leadership at the company and looks forward to working with Kurt Messenger, a seasoned industry professional with 38 years of experience.”
Schneider, in a separate note to employees this week, also obtained by WWD, said Messenger will join the company as senior vice president of manufacturing and supply chain. Messenger had served as a consultant to the company for the past six months. Among his previous stints were eight years as vice president of manufacturing at Warnaco Swimwear Group.
The executive shift follows American Apparel’s decision last week to shutter its Hawthorne, Calif., dye house in an effort to streamline operations and eliminate redundancies in its operations process.
The facility employs 75, with 20 of those workers offered transfers to American Apparel’s Garden Grove factory.
American Apparel’s manufacturing footprint in Southern California also includes its factory in downtown Los Angeles headquarters, in addition to another facility in the city along with South Gate, Garden Grove and the La Mirada distribution centers.
The company, which emerged from bankruptcy this month, currently employs about 7,900 workers.