If La-Z-Boy is using the market slump as part of an excuse to outsource their labor to Mexico so the upper level management can have bigger salaries. Every other company does it these days and who wouldn't? When you're making hundreds of millions of dollars every year, the upper level management will do anything they can, including lay of thousands of employees just to make fatter salaries. Proof of this is that when the market turns back around and the economy picks back up, La-Z-Boy will conveniently leave all their factories in Mexico.

I'm sorry to hear this news and sorry that these good people will lose their jobs.

So much for the theory that Utah is immune to what goes on in the national economy.

Does that mean the Mexican workers they already employ will get relocation costs?

This means I will no longer buy la-z-boy.

These MBA types just don't get it....

I suppose there is relocation for any/all the illegals working at the plant to go home to Mexico?

Ross Perot was right in 1992! The giant sucking sound of good paying jobs leaving the country is killing our middle and lower classes.

Something the federal government doesn't understand about America is that we can't all be Doctors, Lawyers and Indian Chiefs.

America is a diverse nation of people. With diverse needs for employment opportunities.

The American middle to lower classes are getting the big screw-job with all these "free-trade" agreements.

Another thing to ponder. If all these jobs are heading to Mexico and employing Mexicans enriching them enough to in turn by our products. Why do we STILL have illegals crossing the border?

They already have our old jobs back home now.

Chalk up another great success of capitalism. Don't worry, it's really worth it for us in the long run, 'cause it trains us to not be lazy and stupid.

Does not surpise me about la-z-boy. My husband use to work for la-z-boy in tremonton for many years, but after the owner died and the kids took over he could no longer work for them. He would tell me how they would put the chairs together. Cheap!!! He would say they father must be turning in his grave to his this happening. The company is not the same as it once was. So for this to happen does not surpise us at all. The family of the company love the all mighty buck, and they will get it any way and use an excuse to get it.

The planning necessary to accomplish this took place LONG before the housing slump, don't kid yourself. The culprit is NAFTA and the greed of pimply-faced Wharton/Harvard MBA's and misplaced loyalty. The folks in Tremonton ought to buy the plant, put their shoulder's to the wheel and make a better product at a lower cost. Take the opportunity to teach the company a lesson. One cost they've underbudgeted is freight..it's their Achilles'Heal. Another is the quality of their product will not be enhanced by this move. I, for one, faced with the decision to buy an American made recliner or super-soft chair versus one "Hecho en Mexico", if the price was within 5 to 10%, will opt for the American-made product to sustain our families and our economy. Create and employee-owned company, gird up your loins and go for it! Also, learn a lesson from this experience.

example of choosing cheap labor over quality. Shame on you La-Z-Boy....

we in America should all consider this the next time we go to buy furniture. I for one am sick of companies thinking only of the profit margin instead of the American workers and public who have supported them from the start. This is just not right. And we the people need to start buying strictly American if at all possible.

This is just the beginning.

Producing these chairs in Mexico is good for America and good for our neighoring Mexico. If they can lower their costs by producing the chairs in Mexico, then that will mean lower costs for people in the United States buying chairs.

Plus, it's good for Mexico and the Mexican economy. If we're going to solve the illegal immigration problem, then we need to strengthen Mexico's economy.

However, the company and our society need to help provide training for the workers being laid off. They will need retraining and will probably need to move to a different geographic region to find good employment.

American greed is alive and well even in Utah. these companies make millions off the backs of their workers and then it is still not enough so they cut the people who made them rich and send their jobs out of the country. profits. The only way to save our middle class is to organize vote, boycott. I wont be buying no lazy boy chair. The reason that the illegals won't go along home is that they don't want to work for the same employer who will have them do the same work at a fraction of the wage they're not stupid. however if working class america doesn't get it right we are all going to be in trouble. we should have listened and elected the fellow that was warning us about the sucking sounds taking our jobs. other countries are more proactive in maintaining their jobs. sad to say that americans are ignorant and very lax when making changes that is why these companies do what they do. we like to vote for yo yo's who tell us that our auto jobs are gone and nothing we can do. that lazy boy is gone

If you are interested in learning how free trade benefits America and our trading partners, I suggest you learn about 2 economic topics: Comparative Advantage and Opportunity Cost.

Go to Google and search for "Comparative advantage". Read the Wikipedia article. It will help you understand why many economists think free trade can raise the standard of living for the American people.

How do you say "la-z-boy" in spanish and will this be a part of their marketing campaign here in the USA now that they are no longer an "American" company?

This is a catch 22. We wouldn't be saying anything if this were one of the other named plants that was closing. It seems that this one simply had to close to sustain the viability of the company to pay and support its other US workers. Believe me, Utah has benefited from this

I understand people are upset, but let me throw out another example. We have the Crandall canyon mine disaster from last summer and everyone, including congress, going after its boisterous owner to shut the mine down. What about the other hundreds of miners who lost their jobs? I sure haven’t heard much in defense of their livelihood.

Just a thought.

This solves my furniture problem. I have been in the market for a new sofa...et.al. Now I know. A La-Z-Boy will never even be considered.

well, i was in the market for 2 chairs and this just made it easier. buy american.

It's all in the name of "increasing shareholder value". La-Z-Boy, you reap what you sow.

The reality is business has to be concerned about their profit margin, if they don't they will soon be in bankruptcy .To compete in a global economy they are forced to do whatever is necessary to compete. Instead of bad mouthing the owners we should be figuring out what it takes to keep them here.We are quick to compain about tax breaks, but this is the alternative.

Another case of a company expecting undying loyalty from it's workers, while the corporation(the people who run it) are only loyal to money. The working people in this country have been sold a bill of goods by politicians on both sides of the aisle, and by the corporations as well. It's greed, pure and simple. We have politicians getting fat feeding at the corporate trough, and corporate big wigs gettting fat by sending jobs out of the country. Who, in their right mind, can still defend NAFTA? There are only so many jobs for educated people, and not everyone has the ability to attain that level of education. So what are people who work at places like Lazy Boy supposed to do? Crawl off and die? This country is losing it's soul, and it's all about money and greed.

Of course my question is this: who are they planning to sell their product to? All of those workers they put out of jobs? All of those people who don't have a paycheck anymore because the big bosses wanted to go with cheaper labor? All those people who can no longer afford to buy anything of theirs?

Wow, this is going to have an enormous impact on the Tremonton/Brigham City area. I know quite a few people who work there, and I can't imagine how hard this is going to be on them. Proctor & Gamble is supposed to be building a plant in Box Elder County, but it won't be happening quick enough to help these people much. SHAME ON LA-Z-BOY for putting profit before people.

My aunt has worked at that plant all of her life. I hope she gets a good severance package. I am not inclined to be buying furniture from Lazy Boy in the future.

Odds are, it is because of American buyers that they did this. If people buy cheap(er) goods, without any care where the goods come from, then why not move the manufacture out of the US? One could almost ask why they stopped in Mexico, instead of just moving it to China, to save some real money.

I realize people don't like to see jobs leave their home town, home state, etc. BUT, why didn't Lazyboy shut down one of the other 5 US based factories instead of the one in Tremonton? The danger with blaming others for our problems is that we fail to look at ourselves and ask the hard questions.

Lay off people
Existing staff carries load (like troops in Iraq)
Overhead lowered
Earnings per share increaseD
Stockholders happy
Bonuses awarded to management
THESE ARE FABULOUS TIMES TO BE RICH!

but, but, but gov. huntsman is good for business . . .

what good are cheap chairs made in mexico if we dont have jobs to have money to buy them. i say boycott lazy boy and any other company that moves jobs out of the country out of greed......they are turning this counrty into a third world nation...all our good paying jobs are going away, and they ones that are here have illegal aliens working there to keep wages low... enough is enough....i will never buy another lazy-boy

My opinion,in short, is that there should be no corporate taxes, it is just passed on to the consumer. HOWEVER, if a company choses to re-locate to a third world country and displace American workers, there IS A COST that the company should incur. This cost would be: (1) unemployment compensation costs, reimbursed to the government, (2) health insurance continuation costs, reimbursed to the employee, (3) re-training costs, reimbursed to the employee, (4) wage differential adjustments, since most of the workers will be making less working at Walmart now. By imposing these costs on the exiting company, they can compensate the community affected for their decision to move, AND it may well affect the decision if they KNOW what the REAL costs are going to be. My two cents worth. Now a REAL RESPONSIVE government would be "creative" in this way and enact legislation to make this kind of cost imposed on companies. But we have a government of the rich, owned by the rich, for the rich, and we get shafted. Consider this when you pull the lever for the elephant....what do they really do for YOU?

I will NEVER buy Lazyboy again. NEVER. I hope all of America will join the boycott.

I wonder how many who are commenting on not buying a La-Z-Boy chair now that they will be made in Mexico, a once in a while purchase, will continue shopping at places like Wal-Mart because they are cheaper. True perhaps, but the majority of stuff is produced elsewhere. If you want to amke a difference, you need to buy American ALL THE TIME, not just when you buy a sofa.

Lz boy is amazing and i love em. Hmmmm but it bull what they are doing.....i dont even know. Amen god bless....

TO Good for America: Don't kid yourself. Lower costs have never resulted in lower prices, just higher profits.

Maybe that is why their stuff is overpriced. It was still made in America? I thought China had cheaper labor. Why not their?

I hope that a few top execs are on the move also or will they let Mexicans become executives? I doubt both. Quality will definetly take a hit though. Like others have said folks, just make sure that what you buy in the future(all things) reads made in the USA. Also please do not forget these kind of issues when you vote this fall and other upcoming elections--local and national. Get rid of the incumbents--they are the ones that have voted for and allowed these type of things to happen.

to never again - Why stop with Laz-y-boy? Boycott all non American made products.

For those who are in the over 40 group - you will have that hardest time looking for work. It is happening nationwide. The reason - because employers can pay the young people without experience less. The job posting may read for example: 6 months experience working in quality assurance. If you have 3months experience you won't get the job but someone with zero experience will. I know- I have an associated degree (2 years of college) but someone with a certificate that took them only 6-9 months to earn (less schooling) has been getting the jobs. I know because I am over 40, I get calls for an interview because I have a great resume but because I am over 40 I have yet to get hired for a job even with what little experience I have

NAFTA has no impact on this. These kind of chairs already enter the U.S. duty free regardless of where they're sourced from.

I don't want to make this sound too harsh and I am one of those "pimply faced" MBAs you are talking about, but a few things I will fire off at random.

1) Read Atlas Shrugged or most anything else of Ayn Rand

2) Are you really asking companies to lose money to keep people employed at all costs? Was the Tremonton facility producing good quality at a good price, was it the best facility? I don't know and neither do you.

3) Are you the consumers willing to pay more for a recliner made in Utah than one made in Mexico? Historically with every other product the answer is absolutely no. So we cry when people are put of work, but we collectively have power to speak our mind and tell companies what is supposedly important for us with our money, but we don't.

4) If we want a hand-out, say so.

I am sorry the plant was closed in Utah. I grew up there and want to see the state do well. However, these decisions are NEVER easy for executive despite the perception are just as loyal to the US as you or I.

When it's all said and done, it's the people told "don't let the door hit you on the way out" that I feel most sorry for. I used to deliver to the Tremonton and Brigham City areas. Believe me, there aren't many rich people there. This is really going to hurt!!! Hang in there folks and may God bless you in the difficult times to come.....for Lazy Boy all I can say is, "you reap what you sow"!

How ironic! My wife & I were going to more than likely going to buy a Lazy -Boy sofa very soon. Not now.Of course Lazy-Boy will continue to sell here in the U.S. All of those companies do. But we are not buying it!

I grew up in Brigham City, and I can't imagine the impact this will have on Box Elder County. That place has experienced its share of hard knocks in the last couple decades, and I suppose this is just another milepost in its unrelenting decline.

This plant closing is unfortunately just the reality of the modern, global marketplace. For those of us who live in large urban centers, we can easily transition from an industry that has taken a hit to an up and coming, fresh industry. It is much harder in places like Brigham City, where good jobs in other industries are incredibly scarce.

At the same time, there really isn't anything we can do about this. To avoid this plant closing, we'd have to build a wall around America, cease all imports, and outlaw technological innovation. The cost of that would be a nightmare. Do we really ever stop and think of the ramifications of only "buying American?" To do so, we'd all probably be employed, but our wages in real terms would buy us bread and little else.

I would like to add my comments about NAFTA to those of other readers. I just don't get it. How in the world does it benefit American society to have all the good manufacturing jobs here in our country exported to Mexico. Here in our area in California, Hershey just shut down a large operation and sent the jobs to Mexico. Can anyone tell me of one job that has been created for American workers as a result of NAFTA?

MBA man, from a fellow MBA man (Arizona State, 1995)...The REAL costs of unfettered free trade are very difficult to calculate precisely, but they are LARGE. The theory of free trade, which I am sure you are familiar with, does NOT account for "income transfer costs" and "inability to re-train" costs. Income transfers are the unemployment paid to displaced workers, welfare, food stamps, etc. The other unaccounted cost is due to the inability to feasibly re-train displaced workers into new jobs. Added to this is the real world problem of age bias. You may be re-trained but are unemployable because companies want younger workers, after all, they will need to learn the job and will be "happier" with lower wages and will have more years to "pay back" the learning curve costs that the company incures. From the inception of our country to the second decade of the 1900s we imposed tariffs on imported goods. The result of this was the growth of the United States into the greatest manufacturing power the world has ever seen. Additionally, we did without an income tax. The REAl costs of outsourcing should be passed to companies.

George W Bush's long term economic plan at work - "OUT SOURCING". I'm sure the good folks in India and Mexico love GWB since he continues to strengthen their economy's by encouraging the out sourcing of US jobs. But hey, that tax refund check that the hard working people of Brigham City will be getting in June will more than make up for the loss of their jobs....right??? NOT!

As a "former" member of the GOP I have to say that I can't wait until the November election when we can finally boot out the remainder of the GOP and put the democrat's back in power.

We're all sad to see this, and our outrage lasts all of about 10 minutes --just long enough for us to traipse on down to the local big-box store in order to stock-up on tons of cheap made in China/mexico/India goods. Companies respond to consumer demand. If we didn't buy foreign goods as much, or complained to store management, then we wouldn't be seeing this as much. Vote with your dollars! If an American-made good is of higher quality and slightly higher in price, then buy American! Has anyone noticed the poor quality of clothing these days as compared to 10 years ago? That cheap $5 shirt looks great on the store rack, but after a couple of washings, is ready for the rag heap. Iconic American brands of the past can no longer be counted on for quality. That's sad, but we only have ourselves to blame.

Recommended reading:

"Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American" - Michael Moore

Academy and Cannes Award winner Mr. Moore, predicted over a decade ago what is happening today.

Conservatives need not bother. Just go back to your Rush Limbaugh Show for the latest economic updates.

We need more outsourcing to Mexico so that illegal workers don't come to the US for jobs, they can stay in Mexico.

For all you people that love to be outraged at anything, you should learn what the difference is between a business and a charity. If a business wants to compete in this economy, they have to reduce costs. It's that simple.