United Denim Inc. to lay off 164 employees by the end of the year

Los Angeles - It seems like the City of Angels has struggled recently in terms of the fashion. The manufacturing hub, responsible for various local denim brands such as United Denim Inc., is having layoffs and cuts in several factories.

Earlier in November, it was announced that the company will need to lay off most of its employees. The company, as reported by Apparel News, informed state employment officials that it will lay off 164 of its 200 employees by the end of 2017. “We are in survival mode,” Mateo Juarez, the owner of the factory, told the publication. “We are letting a lot of people go. We are taking our last breath.”

The reasons for these cuts could be due to many reasons including the minimum wage increase in California as well as economic struggles in the fashion industry. Also, a recent trend concludes that casual fashion is starting to outweigh more luxury labels. Other premium denim brands such as True Religion and Lucky Brand may struggle due to this change, looking for cheaper, more convenient manufacturing sources other than Los Angeles. While other countries such as Mexico and China outsource for cheap, it's increasingly harder for Los Angeles to keep up with manufacturing opportunities. With companies such as United Denim Inc. struggling, only time will tell how long until other denim companies find other options for manufacturing.