Nervous husbands who had gathered across the road from the Nolan St building to wait for their partners, rushed to start their cars, anxious to get home and discuss the bleak news with their spouses.

Seventy-four employees at Bellambi's KingGee factory and 207 at Unanderra's Bonds factory were told the news in lunchroom meetings yesterday - hours after reports of job losses had hit the media.

One of the Unanderra factory employees, who did not want to be named, said workers were struggling to come to terms with the announcement.

"They called a meeting in our lunch area and told us," she said.

"They just broke it to us that they'll close and move our jobs to China.

"Everyone was shocked, there were tears, over 200 people here will lose their jobs."

The Bonds employee said workers had walked onto the job yesterday morning unaware parent company Pacific Brands was planning to shed jobs at Unanderra.

"We had no idea this was going to happen," she said. "It gave a shock to everyone, especially the younger ones.

"By February next year it will close, but we still don't know if it will be a gradual shutdown or everyone will finish at the same time."

The woman said the factory was an important part of life for the workers, not just financially, but also socially with strong friendships formed over many years.

"It is sad," she said. "We all shed a lot of tears, especially the younger ones.

"When you've been working here for so many years it is hard - the environment, the atmosphere, we hardly worked for the rest of the day."

The employee said she was stunned that such an iconic Australian brand would now be manufactured outside the country.

"They're selling our brand name all the way to China," she said.

"We never, ever expected the main brand to go overseas.

"Bonds is an Australian company and for it to go to China is a shock."

Despite being told staff would still get their entitlements, the woman said they would struggle to walk back through the doors in the morning.

"How are we going to come back tomorrow, and how are we going to work the rest of the time here?," she said.