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United Furniture Industries was a furniture manufacturer based in Tupelo, Mississippi from 2000 to 2022 and the largest employer in Monroe County, Mississippi. In November 2022 the company announced in an email that it was closing and 2700 employees would lose their jobs.[1]
United Furniture Industries was the result of a 2000 merger between Comfort Furniture, started in 1983, and two other companies, Parkhill Furniture and United Chair. As of 2017, the company had 3700 employees in six Missisippi locations and in California and North Carolina.[1] United Furniture bought the Lane Furniture brand in 2017 from Heritage Home Group, giving the company plants in Belden, Mississippi and High Point, North Carolina.[2] Stage Capital LLC, the owner in 2022, made the decision to close the company without the 60-day advance notice required by WARN.[1]
United had eight Mississippi locations with 1100 employees, plus six in North Carolina and one in California. 2700 employees in all lost their jobs and benefits when the company closed on November 22. In December Wells Fargo, which said United owed the company close to $100 million, pushed for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.[3] After Wells Fargo filed for n involuntary bankruptcy petition, United filed a motion opposing this action, plus another motion asking for a change to Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[4] Judge Selene Maddox of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Mississippi ruled January 18, 2023 that United Furniture could change to Chapter 11.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c Dinatale, Laura (December 13, 2022). "How United Furniture went from state-funded darling to coldly laying off 2,700 workers". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Mississippi Today.
- ^ Sullivan, Mary Carroll (November 22, 2022). "Timeline, history of United Furniture in north Mississippi". WCBI. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ^ a b Seid, Dennis (January 18, 2023). "Judge rules United Furniture can shift to Chapter 11 bankruptcy". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ Carter, Tanya (January 6, 2023). "United Furniture opposes Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing". WTVA. Retrieved February 2, 2023.