SALISBURY — One of the Gildan factories in Salisbury will be shuttering its doors, according to a notice released by the state earlier this week. Two hundred and fifty-eight people are expected to lose their jobs.

A WARN notice, per United States law, requires companies with more than 100 employees to notify staff of planned closings and mass layoffs with at least 60 calendar days notice, was released on Wednesday, Oct. 11, indicating the move.

That notice said that 258 employees would be laid off from their positions at the Heilig Road factory location. The final day of closure will be Dec. 8.

The Gildan factory set to close is one of two in Salisbury. The other factory will remain open. At least for now, there is no indication that it will be closing.

According to the WARN notice issued by the company, the facility is “being closed as part of Gildan’s plan to continue to balance production and inventory levels to drive an efficient and competitive manufacturing platform.”

The notice also stated that plant employees are being offered opportunities to transfer to other area operations in Salisbury and Mocksville.

According to the notice, the Salisbury city manager and mayor, as well as the Rowan County manager, have been notified of the plant’s closing.

Affected employees are not represented by a labor union but do have transfer rights permitting them to apply for positions at other Gildan locations.

On Thursday, Rowan County Commission Chair Greg Edds said that the county hates to hear when a company or industry is struggling.

“We especially hate it when it hits close to home,” Edds said. “Our hearts certainly go out to the affected employees. We will be working with our education community, our Economic Development professionals and the Chamber of Commerce to make sure that the affected employees are connected to new opportunities right here at home.”

Edds described it as unwelcome news but added, “Rowan County is in a different position” than when these announcements hit in the past.

“Colliers recently reported that Rowan County has the largest amount of industrial construction underway in the entire Charlotte Region,” Edds said. “Those projects mean new jobs, and the new jobs we’ve been attracting have been extremely competitive from a wage and benefits perspective.”

Although the news is disappointing, Edds expressed optimism about the future of industry in the area.

“We’re grateful that new, quality opportunities are here,” Edds said. “Now we need to go to work to match the needs with the opportunities.”