By CARLY HARRINGTON, harringtonc@knews.com

Commercial Furniture Group Inc., which makes furniture for hotels and motels, will lay off more than 100 employees at its Morristown plant in May – following a 200-worker cut last summer.

The state released notice of the layoffs today.
The company, formerly Shelby Williams Industries, notified the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development it will lay off 92 employees effective May 6. Another 10 employees will be let go effective May 14.

The workers are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 272T.

Union President Dean Swatzell said the layoffs are a result of work being outsourced overseas and a decline in orders. The 92 employees already have been let go but will be paid until May, he said.

The remaining 10 employees are salaried, and Swatzell said he was unsure whether they are still working.

Officials with St. Louis-based Commercial Furniture Group could not be reached for comment.

The company laid off 200 employees last August, which resulted in the closure of two of the four plants at 150 Shelby Williams Drive. Outsourcing of work to China was blamed.

Swatzell said he expects the company, which once had 700 hourly employees, eventually to shrink its work force to about 200.

Shelby Williams was acquired by The Falcon Companies of St. Louis in 1999, and last year Falcon was renamed Commercial Furniture Group, or CFGroup.

CFGroup is a private company owned primarily by Oaktree Capital Management and Whippoorwill Associates, which have combined assets under management of more than $26 billion, according to the CFGroup’s Web site.

Also Monday, the state said:

Denim Processing, a sewing factory in Oneida, laid off 35 employees effective March 23. Workers are not represented by a union.

Logan’s Roadhouse Inc. closed its 201 Cedar Lane location Feb. 18. Fifty-four employees, who are not represented by a union, were affected by the closing.

Business writer Carly Harrington may be reached at 865-342-6317.