Louis Vuitton’s handbag workshop in Alvarado, Texas, opened by LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and President Trump in 2019, has struggled with production problems, Reuters reported on April 10, 2025, citing 11 former employees.
What Reuters found
- Former workers said the site has consistently ranked among Louis Vuitton’s worst-performing workshops worldwide.
- Errors in cutting, preparation and assembly wasted as much as 40% of leather hides, about double the typical 20% for leather goods.
- The factory makes bags such as the Neverfull and Carryall that carry a “Made in USA” label and sell for $1,500 to $3,000.
- It projected 1,000 jobs but had fewer than 300 workers in early 2025. Some former workers said they got two to five weeks of training.
- Louis Vuitton industrial director Ludovic Pauchard said the ramp-up was harder than expected and that past problems were fixed. The company plans to close its California workshop by 2028 and move staff to Texas.
Why it matters for Made in USA
The Texas plant shows that building a factory is the easy part. Finding and training skilled workers for detailed work like luxury leather goods takes years, and that limits how fast USA production can grow.
FAQ
Where is the factory?
In Alvarado, Texas, south of Fort Worth.
What problems did Reuters report?
High leather waste, quality problems and too few skilled workers.
Is Louis Vuitton staying in Texas?
Yes. It plans to move its California workshop staff to Texas by 2028.
Source & credit
Source: Reuters, April 10, 2025: “LVMH finds making Louis Vuitton bags messy in Texas”. Summary via Dimsum Daily.