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GREENSBORO — Unifi Inc. said Monday that it would pay former chairman, president and chief executive officer Brian R. Parke, who was fired last Wednesday, $2.3 million.

The money, equal to three years salary, will be paid in 37 equal monthly payments as part of an employment agreement between Parke and the financially troubled textile company. The document was dated Jan. 23, 2002.

A federal filing by Unifi on Monday indicates that Parke had been given no warning about his termination.

The filing said Parke also will receive 30 days pay in lieu of a 30-day written notice of his firing.

It also did not explain why Parke had been terminated, other than to say it was "without cause, effective immediately."

The firing came on the same day that Unifi announced it had lost $113 million in the fiscal year which ended June 24.

Parke had been Unifi's president since 1999, CEO since 2000 and chairman since 2004. During that time, the Greensboro-based yarn maker lost more than $350 million.

To replace Parke, the board appointed Stephen Wener as its chairman and acting CEO. Wener has served as president and CEO of Dillon Yarn Co. since 1990. Unifi bought Dillon in January.

The document also shed little light on why Parke and five other Unifi board members resigned on Wednesday.

"In light of the termination and the appointment of Mr. Wener as chairman, (the six) indicated that they were resigning from the board because they felt it was in the best interest of (Unifi) and its shareholders and created the necessary reduction in the size of the board to provide Mr. Wener with the leeway to reconstitute its membership," the document said.

Unifi now has a five-member board.

The company said last week that a search for a permanent CEO would begin immediately.

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027 or donpatterson@news-record.com