VF Corp. is laying off 93 employees from Lee Jeans' Merriam headquarters as it transitions the area operations to North Carolina, where Wranglers is headquartered. As of last August, the Merriam headquarters employed about 130 employees. VF is hoping to drive more value by separating into two independent public companies. The bulk of its brands, including The North Face, JanSport, Smartwool, Dickies and Eagle Creek, will remain with VF. A new company, temporarily called NewCo, will be comprised of the VF Outlet and VF jeans businesses, including Lee, Riders by Lee, Rock & Republic and Wrangler brands. VF aims to finalize the transaction during the first half of this year.