(Reuters) – Canadian textile maker SRTX said on Wednesday it had temporarily laid off 40% of its workforce amid concerns about potential increased costs resulting from expected U.S. tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump suspended his threat of imposing steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Monday, agreeing to a 30-day pause in exchange for concessions on border and crime enforcement. However, he went ahead with the implementation of tariffs on all Chinese imports.
The Sheertex tights maker, which has about 350 employees, cautioned that it was now at risk of facing a potential 41% duty on all its shipments to the U.S.
The company added that the 30-day grace period has allowed it to transfer some of its inventory to the U.S., but not in sufficient quantities to mitigate the impact of the proposed tariffs.
“We are in a worst case scenario,” Katherine Homuth, SRTX’s CEO, said in a LinkedIn post.
SRTX said that 85% of its sales are in the U.S. and it has invested “tens of millions” in its Canadian factory.
The proposed tariffs, along with a delay in the final stage of its fundraising efforts, have led to “tremendous financial uncertainty”, the company added.
(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
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