A U.S. investment firm says it's prepared to seek changes on the board at Gildan Activewear Inc. if the company does not reinstate Glenn Chamandy as chief executive.

In a letter to the board, Browning West also urged it to remove Donald Berg as chair and appoint Browning West co-founder Peter Lee as a shareholder representative. 

Browning West says it will seek a special meeting of shareholders to replace the board if the company does not heed the feedback from it and other shareholders and will not hesitate to hold the board accountable for further delay in rectifying the situation. 

For its part, Gildan's board said the decision to remove Chamandy and replace him with Vince Tyra came after Chamandy agreed to a succession timeline only to later ask to stay on beyond the original plan.

In a letter to shareholders, Berg, along with the board's committee chairs, wrote that the board's trust and confidence in Chamandy had eroded as it worked to hold him accountable for delivering the next chapter of the company’s long-term growth.

Browning West, which holds a 4.8 per cent stake in Gildan, is not alone in seeking the return of Chamandy. It noted that Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd., Gildan's largest shareholder, along with others who collectively hold more than one third of the company's shares have also called for his reinstatement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2023.