The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that innovative Montreal textile manufacturing start-up Sheertex is slashing the size of its work force, blaming uncertainty over the threat of U.S. tariffs for exacerbating its already tenuous financial situation. The Globe's Sean Silcoff and Pippa Norman write that chief executive officer and founder Katherine Homuth told staff Wednesday that the company, which makes rip-resistant tights from the same polymer used in bulletproof vests, would temporarily lay off about 40 per cent of its nearly 350 employees and full-time-equivalent contractors for up to six months. The company, known as SRTX, is expected to save $1-million in wages a month. Ms. Homuth estimated the tariffs could cost it $500,000 to $1-million a month in lost sales -- about 85 per cent of which are in the United States. During its eight-year life, SRTX has uprooted from its original home in Ontario's Muskoka region; convinced skeptical industry observers that it could create a viable, sturdier alternative to nylons; survived the COVID-19 pandemic; and raised $200-million (U.S.) in equity and convertible debt from investors. Its products are stocked by H&M, Costco, Walmart, Holt Renfrew and Macy's.