Reference no: EM131673775

On Dec. 15, 2003, Levi Strauss & Company announced it would close its two last remaining apparel plants in the United States to finalize its transition from a clothing manufacturer to a marketing, sales, and design company. Beginning in 2004, all Levi's apparel was to be produced by contract manufacturers located in low-wage countries. As recently as 1990, Levi Strauss has produced 90% of its apparently in company-owned plants in the United States employing over 20,000 production workers. with every plant closing, Levi Strauss & Company provided severance and job retraining packages to affected workers and cash payments to small communities where its plants were located. Still, These communities struggled to recover from the loss of jobs associated with Levi Strauss's plant closings; many of the former Levi Strauss employees who took new jobs found it difficult to match their previous levels of compensation and benefits. Does Levi Strauss's strategy to outsource its manufacturing pass the moral scrutiny test? is it ethical for a company to close plants employing over 20,000 workers and shift production to low-wage-paying contract manufacturers in foreign countries? why or why not?