Ex-Pillowtex CEO runs for U.S. Senate seat | CharlotteObserver.com

Former Pillowtex CEO David Perdue announced this week that he is running for the U.S. Senate in Georgia.

Perdue was CEO of the former Kannapolis textile giant from mid 2002 to March 2003. Pillowtex abruptly closed in July 2003, laying off 7,650 people nationwide, including more than 4,000 in Cabarrus and Rowan counties — part of the largest single job loss in the history of North Carolina and the textile industry.

After its collapse, company leaders and politicians were quick to blame pressure from low-cost imports for its demise. But Perdue and three other men who ran the company in its final years made critical miscalculations and missed opportunities to combat the growing import problem, an Observer investigation found

via Ex-Pillowtex CEO runs for U.S. Senate seat | CharlotteObserver.com.