LIVINGSTON, TENN. — Furniture maker Berkline/Benchcraft LLC will move the production of stand-alone recliners at its Livingston


plant to a plant in Blue Mountain, Miss., affecting 250 Tennessee jobs.

The changes are expected to be complete by the end of June, officials at the Morristown-based company said this week.

“The upholstered furniture industry has been really slow and the company has seen a decline in its sales volume, which has really affected our bottom line,” said Dennis Carper, Berkline senior vice president of human resources. “We had to evaluate our facilities and found that consolidation of manufacturing divisions was our best option.”

The Livingston plant will continue to operate its reclining mechanism division, which employees 140 people.

Earlier this year, Berkline announced plans to move its leather and fabric cutting operation from Morristown to its Blue Mountain plant. That move affected 150 employees.

In August, Berkline closed its Baldwyn, Miss., facility, putting 400 employees out of work. Many were offered jobs at other company sites.

The company has some 1,100 total employees.