A bouncy house of rubbery confusion hit the Internet this week when Crocs Inc. announced it was closing up its factories. Folks hit the panic button, but all is well as the company announces there will be no shortage of the brightly colored, hole filled clogs.
The chaos began when this story hit the Internet:
Crocs to close remaining manufacturing facilities; executive to resign https://t.co/x5kTp40iYp https://t.co/O3vPEMFxGO— CBS News (@CBS News) 1533784113.0
Needless to say, people freaked.
@CBSNews Noooooooooo!!!!!!!! What will I put on my kids' feet to protect their toes *and* let them play in water??— Melissa (@Melissa) 1533784451.0
@CBSNews This is a goddamn national emergency.— Gus LeFou 👍🏽 (@Gus LeFou 👍🏽) 1533786441.0
@CBSNews @RachelScheffer May need to stock up for Jack @EriIngram you’ll want do the same— C.O. Scheffer (@C.O. Scheffer) 1533843668.0
@CBSNews @kjsassy13 @odenton11_ I’m sorry this is happening. I just wanted you to know that life is still worth living... 😜😂— Shelby Snook (@Shelby Snook) 1533852618.0
@CBSNews Great.. just great. Everyday I check the news and I say to myself 2018 can’t get any worse.. and everyday it does.— Adam Stilgenbauer (@Adam Stilgenbauer) 1533828698.0
It looked like the nuclear fallout might shift the Earth on its axis, but Crocs quickly stepped in the set the record straight. They are shutting down their factories, but they are staying in business. In an email with Footwear News (yes, there is a footwear news website) Crocs said:
There have been multiple media reports that Crocs is winding down production in our owned manufacturing facilities. While accurate, some people have interpreted that to mean that Crocs will no longer be making and selling shoes. Quite the contrary; Crocs will continue to innovate, design and produce the most comfortable shoes on the planet. As we streamline our business to meet growing demand for Crocs, we're simply shifting production to third parties to increase our manufacturing capacity.
In other words, the multi-billion dollar company is shipping manufacturing off to China to save money on production and wages.
Take comfort, #CrocNation. Our future remains as bright, bold and colorful as ever 😎. https://t.co/cRPlBNHmCx— It's Croctober! (@It's Croctober!) 1533855399.0
The relief was palpable.
@X0Juicy_ @Crocs This news put my anxiety as ease. Wow thank you— Rachel Marx (@Rachel Marx) 1533907590.0
@Crocs faith has been restored 🙏— Cameron Cox (@Cameron Cox) 1533858259.0
@gab_coop @Crocs Thank goodness 🙌🏻— Halee Allen📸 (@Halee Allen📸) 1533907739.0
@Crocs My life has been restored to its full capacity. I 💜 @Crocs.— Jurassic Clark (@Jurassic Clark) 1533879721.0
As an overwhelming joy moved through the Internet, a few questioned the company's decision:
@MailOnline What a croc of shit— Northern Monkey 🐝 (@Northern Monkey 🐝) 1533840292.0
@MailOnline Presumably they will outsource to some outfit in Bangladesh or elsewhere. Reduce the cost base and reap… https://t.co/Ayy9NX3lZp— Andrew Ivey (@Andrew Ivey) 1533844078.0
@rascality @karanbirtinna Very sad news for the people losing work. I have a pair of crocs ballet flats, they make… https://t.co/QTWn5Vv6Hs— Ohta Faction (@Ohta Faction) 1533895638.0
Crocs factories will close in both Mexico and Italy. The Colorado based company eliminated 180 jobs in 2014 and closed nearly 100 retail stores.
H/T: Footwwear News, USA Today