Hanesbrands shrinks to fit.

• Position: Triad

II comes as no surprise that Winston-Salem felt pride when Chicago-based Sara Lee Corp. spun off Hanesbrands Inc. in September 2006 and set up its headquarters there. For one, it returned the company to its roots. What became Hanes Corp. was founded in Winston-Salem in 1901. Sara Lee predecessor Consolidated Foods Corp. bought Hanes in an unfriendly takeover in 1979. But Sara Lee decided in 2005 to separate its apparel division--which also includes such labels as Playtex, Champion, L'eggs and Wonderbra--from its food, beverage and household products.

The process took 18 months but couldn't come soon enough for local leaders. Gayle Anderson, CEO of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, was thrilled the city had become home to a $4.5 billion company. "Any time you have the headquarters of a company in your community, the decision about how much to participate from a financial standpoint, as well as from a standpoint of people being involved in leadership positions, is made locally, so it's to your advantage," she said at the time. Also enthusiastic was the Winston-Salem Journal. Despite citing competition from Asia and elsewhere, it predicted: "Hanesbrands should at least be able to retain its 4,900 job slots in Forsyth County."

It hasn't worked out that way. Six months after its debut, the company started cutting local jobs. By the end of this...