Red Wing Shoes closes one plant, cuts jobs at another

The Red Wing Shoe Company has announced jobs cuts at two facilities.

The company will close its facility in Danville, Ky., and eliminate the second shift at the Red Wing plant.

In all, about 200 workers will lose their jobs, including 60 in Red Wing. That will allow the company to bring back employees who've been working a four-day week to full-time status.

Communications director Peter Engel says the demand for work boots has declined over the past year, as a result of high unemployment in the manufacturing and housing industries.

"The recession, while it's officially over -- the employment will lag the recovery. And we see our blue-collar guys, who is our core audience for work boots, coming back even slower," he said.

Engel says as a result of the cuts at these two plants, production will increase at two remaining plants in Missouri and Red Wing.