Prepac to close Whitsett furniture plant, cutting 200 Guilford County jobs

About 200 workers at Prepac Manufacturing’s Whitsett plant are set to lose their jobs as the company shuts down the Rock Creek Industrial Park facility at 3031 Hendren Road. The layoffs are scheduled to take effect May 2 and are expected to hit packers, team leads, machine operators and edge banders across the plant.

The closure lands as a sharp reversal for a company that once promoted Whitsett as a growth story for Guilford County. In August 2020, Prepac announced a $27.1 million investment for a 260,000-square-foot factory and promised 201 jobs. The plant opened in 2021, and North Carolina officials said the project could generate more than $9 million in annual payroll impact with support from a Job Development Investment Grant worth up to $2,106,000 over 12 years.

Prepac had just recently made Whitsett its center of gravity. In March 2025, the company closed its Delta, British Columbia, plant and shifted production to North Carolina, a move the White House later highlighted as part of its manufacturing message. Now the company says it is carrying out an orderly wind-down at the Guilford County site, citing high domestic production costs, global competition and a continuing stream of low-cost Chinese imports.

The shutdown also raises questions about the durability of incentives that are often sold as long-term local wins. Prepac filed a WARN notice with the North Carolina Department of Commerce on March 3, and the state said the company could have been eligible for up to $2,106,000 in performance-based reimbursements over 12 years. Guilford County said it had not paid Prepac any county incentive money, and the company had not requested county payments under the agreement.

The company’s local footprint had already fallen short of the original promise. Prepac was reported to have 131 employees in Guilford County in 2024, well below the 201 jobs announced in 2020. It also received a $98,393 state economic grant about two weeks before announcing the shutdown, deepening scrutiny over what public support can and cannot protect when market pressures turn.

The broader backdrop is equally bleak for the region’s furniture industry. One recent account said North Carolina’s furniture manufacturing workforce has dropped from nearly 80,000 people at the turn of the 21st century to about 28,000 last year. For Whitsett and Guilford County, Prepac’s exit is another reminder that a ribbon cutting does not guarantee a durable recovery.