WestPoint Stevens Announces Facility Closings, Reduction in Workforce in Line With Restructuring Plan

WestPoint Stevens Announces Facility Closings, Reduction in
Workforce in Line With Restructuring Plan 


WEST POINT, Ga., Jan. 10  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WestPoint Stevens
(OTC:WSPTQ) (BULLETIN BOARD: WSPTQ)  ( http://www.westpointstevens.com/ )
announced today that the Company will realign and consolidate its Bed Products
manufacturing capacity in 2005 with the closing of its ALAMANCE PLANT and
DISTRIBUTION CENTER, Burlington, N.C., CLEMSON (S.C.) FABRICATING and GREIGE
plants and DISTRIBUTION CENTER and MIDDLETOWN (Ind.) PLANT, as well as a
reduction of more than 50 percent of its CLEMSON FINISHING PLANT workforce. 
The Company's Bath Products manufacturing capacity will also be consolidated
with the closing of its DRAKES BRANCH (Va.) PLANT.

These closings and workforce reduction are directly related to the removal of
textile quotas from low-wage countries.  While some of the production at these
locations will be shifted to other Company facilities, a significant amount
will now be sourced from other countries.

"This is another move in our ongoing strategy of adjusting as necessary to meet
the challenges of doing business globally," said WestPoint Stevens President
and CEO M.L. (Chip) Fontenot. "We must be flexible in maintaining the most
profitable balance between our domestic manufacturing and goods sourced from
overseas. This becomes more critical with quotas removed.

"This restructuring will strengthen the Company, with better-aligned capacity
and greater freedom to market in a cost-efficient way those products most
in-demand. Our goal, of course, is to ensure the Company's growth and
profitability in a global economy," he emphasized.

About 2,465 associates will be affected. Alamance Plant and Distribution Center
have some 560; Clemson Fabricating Plant and Distribution Center, approximately
760; Clemson Greige Plant, about 340; Drakes Branch Plant, about 450; and
Middletown Plant, approximately 110. At Clemson Finishing Plant, some 245 jobs
will be eliminated. Preparations for shutdowns at the individual facilities
will get under way this month for an anticipated closing in late March or early
April. Likewise, the workforce reduction at Clemson Finishing is expected to be
completed by this time.

"We deeply appreciate the associates at these locations - indeed all our
associates," said Mr. Fontenot. "Their skills and perseverance over the years
have made WestPoint Stevens a leader in our industry, and we sincerely regret
that this restructuring is made necessary by today's global marketplace, where
so many of our products can be produced much less expensively in countries
other than the U.S."

As in past closings and workforce reductions, WestPoint Stevens will apply by
individual facility for assistance for laid-off associates from the Trade Act
of 1974. In areas where affected plants are located near other WestPoint
Stevens facilities, the Company will attempt to place laid-off associates in
jobs at the other plants.

WestPoint Stevens Inc. is the nation's premier home fashions consumer products
company, with a wide range of bed linens, towels, blankets, comforters and
accessories marketed under the well-known brand names GRAND PATRICIAN,
PATRICIAN, MARTEX, ATELIER MARTEX, BABY MARTEX, UTICA, STEVENS, LADY PEPPERELL,
SEDUCTION, VELLUX and CHATHAM - all registered trademarks owned by WestPoint
Stevens Inc. and its subsidiaries - and under licensed brands including
CHARISMA, RALPH LAUREN HOME, DISNEY HOME and GLYNDA TURLEY. WestPoint Stevens
can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.westpointstevens.com/ .

Safe Harbor Statement: Except for historical information contained herein,
certain matters set forth in this press release are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties may be
attributable to important factors that include but are not limited to the
following: Product margins may vary from those projected; Raw material prices
may vary from those assumed; Additional reserves may be required for bad debts,
returns, allowances, governmental compliance costs, or litigation; There may be
changes in the performance of financial markets or fluctuations in foreign
currency exchange rates; Unanticipated natural disasters could have a material
impact upon results of operations; There may be changes in the general economic
conditions that affect customer practices or consumer spending; Competition for
retail and wholesale customers, pricing and transportation of products may vary
from time to time due to seasonal variations or otherwise; Customer preferences
for our products can be affected by competition, or general market demand for
domestic or imported goods or the quantity, quality, price or delivery time of
such goods; There could be an unanticipated loss of a material customer or a
material license; The availability and price of raw materials could be affected
by weather, disease, energy costs or other factors; The future results of
operations may be adversely affected by factors relating to the Chapter 11
proceedings. The information contained in this release is as of January 10,
2005.  WestPoint Stevens assumes no obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statements, contained in this document as a result of new
information or future events or developments.

   Contact:  Lorraine D. Miller, CFA
             Senior Vice President
             Finance and External Communications
             404.378.0491


DATASOURCE: WestPoint Stevens



CONTACT: Lorraine D. Miller, CFA, Senior Vice President, Finance and

External Communications, of WestPoint Stevens, [phone] 



Web site:  http://www.westpointstevens.com/

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