According to reports in local media, the U.S. footwear giant Nike has decided to close its shoe plant in Taicang, Jiangsu.
Zhu Jinqian, a spokesperson for Nike China, said that Nike plans to move its shoe manufacturing business in Taicang to other Asian countries and will close the Taicang plant, which is the only shoe manufacturing facility owned by Nike in China.
Publicly available statistics show that Nike currently has 144 contract plants in China and 57 out of its 185 major contract plants worldwide are located in China. The Taicang plant, which has been established for 13 years, is managed by Taiwan-based Feng Tay Enterprises.
Zhu added that the 1,400 employees in the Taicang plant will be relocated to Feng Tay's plant in Fujian, and Nike will provide those workers who do not want to go to Fujian with high dismissal compensation.