It will soon be the beginning of the end at the Auburn Hosiery Mill as employee layoffs get started in a few weeks and the business goes through the process of shutting down by the first of next year.

The News-Democrat & Leader reported the eventual closing of the Auburn Hosiery Mill earlier this year. Though efforts to prevent the closing have been and are still being made, Tom Maurer, vice president of operations, said it will be a complete shut down.

“We’ve already started to transfer some of the business up there,” Maurer said, referring to the Pennsylvania center which will get the business that Auburn had handled.

Auburn Hosiery Mill, which had been in operation since 1937, once employed over 600 workers and manufactured hosiery. The business has downsized over the years and currently employs 45 people. It serves as a distribution center for socks for parent company New Jersey based Delta Galil USA.

Maurer said shutting down the Auburn business has been considered for a while but now that the entire company is downsizing the time is finally right. The company will save money by maintaining only one facility instead of two.

“It’s been rumored for a long time that they were going to close,” said Auburn Mayor Dewey Roche. Now that it is actually going to happen, “it’s going to be a pretty good blow to the city.”

However, Roche said the situation is not as bad as it could have been. For a while it looked like all the jobs at Caldwell Gasket would be lost, but a move by Logan County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) and Auburn Leather owner Lisa Howlett kept that from happening. The IDA purchased the building and approved to lease the building to Howlett so that she can keep the company at that at that location when she purchases it from the current owner.

“We’ve had some bad news and we’ve had some good news,” Roche said. “Anything that closes obviously concerns us, but we’ve had some businesses open lately too.”

Logan Economic Alliance for Development director Tom Harned said he has been in contact with the Delta Galil people in New Jersey in an effort to keep the Auburn Hosiery Mill open.

“We are working with them to see what the future may hold,” Harned said.

Harned admitted that anytime you lose 45 jobs, it is a cause for concern. However, he and other local leaders are already on the lookout for a new business to fill the 129,000 square foot facility.

“This does give us the opportunity to market that building,” Harned said. “We’re continually working to bring new opportunities to Logan County.”