Furniture manufacturer shuts down Canadian operations, moves production to N.Carolina

DELTA, British Columbia — Canadian ready-to-assemble furniture supplier Prepac has reportedly shut down its manufacturing operations in Delta, British Columbia, shifting all production to its facility in North Carolina instead.

According to Unifor, the union that represents Prepac’s workers, tariffs are to blame. More than 170 workers will be laid off.

“Our union has been warning about lost investment and production since Trump began his economic war on Canada and Canadian workers,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “In this case, Prepac and its equity owners are using the tariffs as an excuse to redirect all their production to the U.S. It’s pure greed.”

Prepac has not confirmed that the closure and production shift were done as a response to tariffs or the trade war, nor as it returned a request for comment to Furniture Today. Company CEO Nick Bozikis told publications The Daily Hive and Business Intelligence for B.C. that the decision “was the product of many months of consideration and analysis, and began long before any tariff risks to Prepac’s business arose.”

He said that the past several years have been challenging for many North American furniture manufacturers, that the Delta closure “is a necessary step that reflects the realities of Prepac today,” and that the company’s North Carolina facility is located closer to its largest customer base.

Prepac was founded in Canada 45 years ago and locally owned until it was acquired by Canadian private equity firm TorQuest in 2019. The company invested $27 million to build its 260,000-square-foot facility in Whitsett, N.C., in 2021, a move that added 200 jobs.

Unifor says it’s calling for a boycott of Prepac products.

“It’s a slap in the face to Canadian workers and Canadian consumers who have made this company a success since 1979,” said Unifor Western Regional Director Gavin McGarrigle. “It’s another example of equity firms stripping companies for profit with no regard for jobs, community or, frankly, decency.”