(NewsSpace.com) – Remington Arms is a very popular name among gun enthusiasts; the company has been around since the early 1800s. In 2018 and again in 2020, Remington Arms filed for bankruptcy, citing hundreds of millions of dollars in debt due to falling sales. Then, in 2022, the company reached a notorious settlement with the families of those who died in the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut. These two factors have led Remington to announce that it will close the doors on its oldest manufacturing plant.
According to the Utica Observer-Dispatch, the gun manufacturing company sent out a letter on Thursday, November 30, detailing its plans to “close its entire operations at 14 Hoefler Avenue” on or around March 4. That means the facility’s entire staff, 270 people, will be laid off between March 4 and 18. The company has been in Ilion since 1816, with more than 200 years of legacy.
This is an about-face from the message the company sent out last month, when it said that despite moving its headquarters to Georgia, the Ilion plant would remain open. The decision to move to Georgia was made because it’s a “business friendly state” and “a firearms friendly state,” per CEO Ken D’Arcy.
It’s not just the gunmaker who is upset about the company’s closure. Herkimer County officials expressed their concerns about the company’s departure, notably “the impact of the livelihoods of over 250 employees.” Republican lawmakers, including state Senator Joseph Griffo (Rome) and Assemblymen Robert Smullen (C-Meco) and Brian Miller (C-New Hartford), released a joint statement about the issue, saying it’s not uncommon to see companies leave New York. They point to “burdensome regulations, crippling taxes, problematic energy, and other policies” as the reasons.
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) called the decision “a slap in the face,” particularly on the heels of the indication last month that the Ilion plant would not be closing. He asked the company to “reconsider and explore alternative solutions.”
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