La-Z-Boy has been the town's largest employer, and the mayor is hoping affected workers can find work. "I feel like we can absorb some of them — maybe not all 600, but some of them — with the other industries in town," he said.

Curt Stewart, spokesman with the Utah Department of Workforce Services, said the company will eliminate jobs beginning June 2 and continuing through September. The department's "rapid-response" team is prepared to offer services if the company allows it, he added.

Those services can include discussions about job-training options, counseling to deal with creditors and utilities, information about filing for unemployment insurance "and whatever options we can come up with for them to get them employed as soon as possible," he said.

"The economy is still fairly healthy here in Utah, so there are still jobs available and job growth in Utah," he said. "Hopefully, we can help get people employed. We would like to get there as soon as is feasible, to get all the materials and get the sessions going."

Liebmann said Wednesday that the company has hired an outplacement firm to assist employees with counseling, employment workshops, resume preparation, interview preparation and related services.

La-Z-Boy, based in Monroe, Mich., will transfer work at Tremonton to five remaining plants that produce La-Z-Boy branded upholstery products. About 400 production positions will be added at those remaining facilities, which are in Neosho, Mo.; Redlands, Calif.; Siloam Springs, Ark.; Dayton, Tenn.; and Newton, Miss. The Tremonton plant will be sold after it closes.

The Tremonton plant closure was one of two cost-cutting moves the company announced Wednesday. The company also will move its domestic cutting and sewing operations to Mexico, affecting about 1,050 workers at five remaining plants over 18 to 24 months. La-Z-Boy said the Tremonton plant closing and the shift in cut-and-sew operations are expected to save the company more than $25 million annually starting in fiscal 2011.

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Contributing: Associated Press
E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com