Brazil's Guararapes closes factory, lays off about 2,000

SAO PAULO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's Guararapes Confeccoes SA, the owner of fashion retailer Riachuelo, said on Tuesday it had laid off about 2,000 employees after deciding to close a factory in the northeastern state of Ceara.

Guararapes said in a statement that closing its Fortaleza plant was a "strategic move to provide more efficiency, operational centralization and competitiveness," adding it would keep a second factory in the city Natal up and running. (Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)