Fruit of the Loom Will Cut 3,200 Jobs : Apparel: Nation’s biggest underwear maker details plan announced earlier. Six plants will close, two others will get smaller.

Fruit of the Loom Inc. said Monday that it will eliminate 3,200 jobs in five states by year-end to improve profitability. Six plants will be closed and operations will be reduced at two others.

The nation’s largest underwear maker said the affected plants are in Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. The moves will slash its U.S. employment by 12%.

Fruit of the Loom’s profit dropped 39% in the third quarter to $24.5 million. The Chicago-based company blamed poor sales of printed T-shirts, licensed sports apparel, sweat shirts and sweat pants.

Monday’s announcement elaborated on plans disclosed earlier this month. Chairman William Farley said on Oct. 18 that Fruit of the Loom would streamline operations.

Fruit of the Loom Class A shares were unchanged at $18 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock had traded at $20 a share before the initial announcement of plans for retrenchments.

Fruit of the Loom employs 38,000 people and operates more than 50 manufacturing plants, mainly in the southeastern United States. It also has plants in New Hampshire, the Caribbean Basin, Mexico, Ireland, Morocco and Canada.

In its last major layoffs, Fruit of the Loom idled 2,000 workers in late 1993 and recalled them all by mid-1994.

For the first nine months of this year, its earnings fell 22% to $80.7 million, or $1.06 per share, on sales of $1.89 billion.