Written by Tasilo Hamel and Willon Knungham
Alvarado, Texas / Paris (Reuters) years ago, LVMH CEO Bernard Bernard and president Donald Trump cut the blue strip on a factory in the rural state of Texas that would make the hand bags designed Louis Vuitton one of the best luxury brands in the world.
But since the prominent opening, the factory has faced a set of problems that limit production. The site has been constantly classified among the worst performance for Louis Vuitton in the world, “heavily” in the performance of other facilities, according to three former workers in Louis Vuitton and a large industrial source, who cited internal classifications with employees.
The factory’s problems-which have not been reported before-the challenges facing LVMH are highlighted because they are trying to build a fingerprint in the United States to avoid a tariff for Trump on European-made goods.
“The mayor was more difficult than we thought it would be true,” Ludovic Bushrad, Industrial Director of Louis Vuitton, said in an interview on Friday in response to detailed questions about Reuters results.
The former three workers told Reuters that the Texas site, which is located on a 250 -acre farm, struggled because of the lack of skilled leather workers able to produce brand quality standards. “It took years to start making simple pockets for the Neverfull handbag”, referring to the classic Louis Vuitton load.
One of the former employees said with detailed knowledge of the factory performance, that the errors made during the cut, preparation and assembly process led to a waste of up to 40 % of the leather leather. A large source in the industry said that the model waste rates at the level of the leather goods are generally 20 %.
Many former employees who spoke to Reuters described the high pressure environment. To increase production numbers, the supervisors routinely on the tip of a tip towards ways to hide defects, and in some cases encouraged them.
Bouchard admitted that there were such cases in the past, but he said the case had been resolved. “This dates back to 2018 and a specific manager is no longer part of the company,” he said.
Two of the sources said with the company’s supply chain knowledge that the handbags with bad drainage that are inappropriate for sale are torn at the site and transported in trucks for burning.
Louis Vuitton, a former production supervisor who often traveled to the site, said at the Texas Factory for less sophisticated handbag models, resulting from his most expensive products elsewhere.
Paoshrad, the industrial manager of Louis Vuitton, said the company is “patient” with a “young factory”.
He said: “Any bag from which the Louis Vuitton bag comes out, and we make sure that it meets the exact same quality.” “I am not aware of any types of issues that indicate the quality coming from Texas that differ from those coming from Europe.”
Made in the United States
Flowing behind a hill, handbag production facilities were built on the floor near the grazing cattle and the gas well. Louis Vuitton appointed Rochhambo in honor of a French general fought in the revolutionary war.
On site workers make full components and models of Louis Vuitton bags such as Velice Pochett and Metis’s bags – with “Made in the United States of America” signs at home. The elements sell about $ 1500 and $ 3,000 in high -end stores.
LVMH rejected the comment when asked about the fully manufactured handbag models in Texas, but the former workers that Reuters met mentioned Carryall, Keepall, Metis, Felic and Neverfll are among the factory products.
In its marketing materials, Louis Vuitton says that its bags – which are usually manufactured in French, Spanish or Italian leather automatic automatic automatic automatic automatic automatic automatic automatic automatic vocalities. After cutting the fabric and leather using manual tools and laser pieces, they imagine the pieces together using industrial sewing machines.
Workers were paid at the Texas facility, which includes floors intended for cutting and assembly as well as the warehouse, initially $ 13 per hour. As of 2024, the basic wage of the factory worker center in the factory reached $ 17 per hour, according to two people who are recently applied for jobs. The minimum wage in Texas is $ 7.25 per hour.
A former leather worker who arrived as a migrant in the United States a few years ago said that she felt proud when she was appointed by the prestigious French brand, but said that some workers are struggling to meet the quality standards and production goals of the brand.
“We were at great pressure to achieve daily goals,” said the former worker, who left the factory at the end of 2019.
Another person who worked in the facility until 2023 said that it cut the corners, such as using a hot pin “melting” the painting and leather to hide the defects in a very difficult piece called the Vendome Opera bag.
Another previous leather worker said they saw people melting materials to hide holes or other defects in stitches.
Damian Verbig, International Manufacturing Director at Louis Vuitton, has admitted that some at the Texas Factory change jobs or departure due to strict quality requirements.
He said: “There are craftsmen we face, and those we train and those who, after several weeks or months, are aware of the expectations, the level of details required, prefer to work in other areas such as logistics services.” “Some people chose to leave, because it is true that it is a job that requires a lot of Savoir Faire.”
Three former factory workers said they received between two and five weeks of training. A current employee in Louis Vuitton in France said only a few weeks of training was not unusual because most learning occurs on the production line supervised by the most experienced craftsmen.
“Knowing sewing on leather/fabric is an additional, but not required feature. We are providing comprehensive training,” the company said in a job in Alvarado’s craftsmen, published on its website in January.
Virgijah said that training in Texas is “the same program that we have in all our workshops”, that is, six weeks on the training line, where new craftsmen do nothing but learn basic operations and skills before continuing training on the assembly line. He said that there are “accompanieds and are constantly directed by the coaches.”
Tax exemptions
LVMH has obtained a set of tax exemptions and incentives from Johnson Province, including 10 -year -old property reduction, 75 %, and the company promised about $ 29 million in savings. “We look forward to serving this exceptional company.”
In the 2017 request letter to reduce taxes, which Reuters obtained by requesting records, LVMH said it was aimed at employing 500 people during the first five years of the plan. At the 2019 tape cutting ceremony, Arnault said: “We will create about 1000 highly skilled jobs here in Rocambeau over the next five years.”
However, one of the former employees said that the number of employees of less than 300 workers in February 2025, Ferberig said.
The White House did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Bouchard said that the initial employment difficulties were largely due to the Covid-19s and the lock that followed, adding that the decrease in domestic demand also played a role.
Despite the problems, LVMH plans to transfer more jobs to Texas. LVMH said in its 2017 file that the first Texas production facility would cost about $ 30 million. The second deposit from 2022 to the local authorities was placed the cost of the second workshop, which was completed last year, at $ 23.5 million.
In a municipal hall last fall, workers at a production site in California were informed that it would be closed in 2028 and could move to Texas or stop, according to a former employee who was present.
Boushard confirmed the city hall and said that Louis Vuitton intends to simplify its operations in California and transfer more skilled craftsmen to Texas – with limited success so far. He said that its executives reduced the fact that Texas is far from California.
(Participated in Tassilo Hummel coverage in Paris and Wilon Knungham in Alvarado, Texas. Editing by Vanessa Ocunile and Michael Lermond.)
