Canadians furious at U.S, but furniture giant Prepac shuts down its British Columbia plant and moves jobs to North Carolina amid tariff debate and worker backlash

Prepac Manufacturing Ltd, a Canadian furniture manufacturer, will close down its Delta, British Columbia, plant and has planned to move its operations to North Carolina in the United States, as per a report. The move, which will reduce the workforce of 170 at the Delta plant, has set off a heated controversy over whether US tariffs contributed to the closure, reported Industrial Equipment News.

Union Accuses Prepac of Using Tariff Uncertainty to Justify the Closure

Canada's largest private-sector union, Unifor, announced about the plant shut down last week, as per the report. While, the national president of Unifor mentioned in the announcement that, "Prepac used uncertainty over trade in North America to make the move amid the Trump administration’s unpredictable tariff announcements," as quoted by Industrial Equipment News.

Prepac Defends Its Decision

However, Prepac cited the reason for shifting its plant as “an altered economic environment” in its decision, according to the report.


Prepac's North Carolina CEO Nick Bozikis, said that the relocation will be done as it would be near its customer base in a persistently difficult market for furniture makers in North America, as per Industrial Equipment News.

Unifor Calls for Prepac's Boycott

While the Unifor officials claimed that they would call for a boycott of Prepac’s products nationwide as part of the ongoing protests against American-made products both in Canada and abroad, reported Industrial Equipment News.

Company's History

According to the report, the company was founded in Vancouver in 1979 and opened the Delta factory in 2005. Prepac was acquired by Toronto private equity firm TorQuest Partners in 2019, as per Industrial Equipment News The North Carolina plant was then opened in 2021, the report added.

FAQs

Why is Prepac closing its Delta, BC plant?
Prepac is closing the plant and moving operations to North Carolina to be closer to its customer base in a challenging North American furniture market, according to the company.

Has Prepac always been a Canadian company?
Yes. The company was founded in Vancouver in 1979 and operated in British Columbia for decades and then expanded to the US, as per the report.