UPDATE 1-Furniture Brands to combine Broyhill operations

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ATLANTA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Furniture Brands International Inc (FBN.N) said on Thursday it will consolidate its Broyhill upholstery operations into a single facility in North Carolina to cut costs and improve distribution.

A company spokesman said while there may be some layoffs from the move, more than 90 percent of the current work force was expected to be offered positions in the new facility, which should employ 670 workers by the 2009 first quarter.

No charges are expected from the consolidation, he added.

The company, whose other furniture brands include Lane, Thomasville and Henredon, said operations at all five of its Broyhill upholstery making and warehouse sites would be moved to a single plant in Lenoir, North Carolina.

St. Louis-based Furniture Brands, which has been revamping its business by consolidating U.S. plants and exiting some store leases, has not commented on performance of its specific brands lately. But in recent years, the company had noted sales weakness at Broyhill, one of its lower-end brands.

Last year, the company announced the closure of some Broyhill and Lane stores and said those two mid-priced brands would be sold mainly through traditional furniture retailers and mass merchants.

In August, Furniture Brands reported a quarterly loss as the weak U.S. economy hurt sales and it took charges tied to its restructuring.

The company's shares rose 12 cents to close at $11.10 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Karen Jacobs, editing by Richard Chang)