Cuts dye Unifi's quarter black.

• Position: Triad

Earlier this year, Greensboro-based yarn maker Unifi managed its first profitable quarter since 2003. It did so partly by consolidating production, closing factories and slashing jobs in North Carolina and other states The profit wasn't much--just $12,000 -- but compared with a $13.2 million loss in the same quarter last year, it's a promising start for CEO William Jasper, who was promoted in September from vice president of sales.

Another beneficiary of Unifi's job shuffle has been Yadkinville. Later this year, for the seventh time since 2004, the company will increase employment at its five polyester plants there because of consolidation elsewhere. This time, the boost will come at the expense of a factory in Staunton, Va., which Unifi plans to close by Sept. 30.

That plant has 145 employees, but company execs aren't sure how many positions they will transfer to Yadkinville or how many people will move from Virginia to keep their jobs. Some management positions will be eliminated. Once the Staunton plant closes, all of Unifi's domestic production will be in North Carolina and all of its polyester production in Yadkinville. That's mostly because the plants there have the company's newest equipment, courtesy of...