Midlands employees to be laid off after company sells, citing tariff uncertainty
A stationary and seasonal products manufacturer is set to close its Batesburg-Leesville facility and lay off more than 100 employees in the process.
The last day of work for 112 employees at the Design Group Americas’ Batesburg-Leesville location will be August 26, the company announced in a letter to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.
The Batesburg-Leesville location is one of nine distribution centers for the international company, which is headquartered in Atlanta. It’s unclear whether the company’s layoffs will extend to its other manufacturing facilities.
In the letter sent to the state’s employment department June 27, the group cited “business needs” as the reasoning for the closure. Representatives for the company declined a request for comment from The State.
The company sold off its American division in May to a London-based private equity company after months of financial turmoil following the bankruptcy of one of its largest clients and “significant pressure and uncertainty from the new trade tariffs imposed in the US,” the company said in a trading statement May 30.
Batesburg-Leesville, a rural town of around 5,000 people, sits between Lexington and Saluda counties. Design Group Americas’ local facility sits just outside the town limits.
This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
