High-end shirt maker victim of pandemic

Gitman Bros. says it is laying off 88 employees

Gitman Bros., the high-end bespoke shirt maker in Ashland, Schuylkill County, has announced its closing just days after Gov. Tom Wolf had lauded it in a tweet.

The closure will affect 88 employees within 90 days, according to notice the company filed with the state Department of Labor & Industry. The company told the state the layoffs would be permanent due to the economic fallout from COVID-19.

On May 27, Wolf said, “Today I want to shine the spotlight on a few PA businesses that have stepped up to help others during COVID-19: Textile maker Gitman Brothers in Schuylkill Co. created antimicrobial hospital gowns.”

The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

Gitman is owned by the Tennessee-based Tom James Co., which has offered employees positions at its other factories.

The news comes as the U.S. garment industry struggles under the coronavirus economy. Brooks Brothers recently announced plans to lay off 700 employees this summer at the factories in Massachusetts, New York and North Carolina. It may close its factories if it can’t sell them.

Gitman Bros., established in 1978, was the last textile factory in Schuylkill. In 2016 the company made dress shirts and other apparel for more than 800 clients, mostly family-owned businesses across America and around the world.

Gitman began as a maker for private labeling, founded in 1932 in Brooklyn by Max Gitman, the father of twin brothers, Alfred and Sheldon Gitman.

In 1952, Max brought his sons to Ashland. The brothers continued to manufacture shirts under private labels and later their own brand. They operated as Ashland Shirt & Pajama Co.

Gitman was the sole manufacturer of Burberry shirts in the U.S. until 2007, when the work was sent to Turkey and Thailand. The company downsized the workforce by more than 60 people then.