Before joining Leslie Fay, Mr. Short was chief executive, president and chief operating officer of Joe Boxer, the whimsical underwear maker.

The underwear maker said the after-tax charges, which would equal about $3.15 to $3.40 a share, were the result of a write-down and previously announced job cuts.

The underwear maker blamed trade pacts.

Even the singer Michael Jackson is getting into the act, negotiating to buy a ski resort from a bankrupt South Korean underwear maker.

He is negotiating with the Ivax Corporation for a fragrance and with an underwear maker for a line of Karl Kani underwear.

He initially bought the business from an underwear maker called Tranel.

Fruit of the Loom had never licensed its name, but Mrs. Wachner began courting the underwear maker.

Jockey, the underwear maker, approached I am Fashion, which has no obvious ads, and asked to be mentioned in the text, Ms. Fok said.

Yesterday, companies ranging from Eastman Kodak to Delta Galil Industries, a small Israeli underwear maker, said they had millions of dollars in payments outstanding.

Even the American singer Michael Jackson is getting into the action, negotiating to acquire a ski resort from its owner, a bankrupt Korean underwear maker.