RI Deal Cuts 70 Danbury Jobs

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) –– A Connecticut manufacturer has decided to keep 205 jobs in Rhode Island, after securing a $4.2 million bank loan guaranteed by the state Economic Development Corporation.

Sandlapper Fabrics, a textile manufacturer in Danbury, recently purchased Slater Dye Works and Slater Screen Print Corporation, in Pawtucket and Cumberland.

The company was going to move the employees to the Nutmeg State until the EDC helped guarantee the loan from Bank Rhode Island. The economic agency also offered workforce training funds.

As a result, Sandlapper will cut 70 employees in Danbury and move 12 managers to Rhode Island, The Providence Journal reported.

“It’s a transaction with little downside,” said EDC executive director Michael McMahon. “The theme is ... we are not walking away from manufacturing jobs.”

The EDC has authority to guarantee up to $80 million in loans. With the Sandlapper loan, $30 million has been guaranteed, according to Earl Queenan, the agency’s director of accounting and finance.

Sandlapper makes print fabrics for the home furnishings and craft markets.