Oldest Gun-Maker in US Announced Plans to Shutter NY Factory

Oldest Gun-Maker in US Announced Plans to Shutter NY Factory

By: Serach Nissim

Remington, the oldest gun maker in the country, founded in 1816 in Madison, North Carolina, opened its massive firearms and ammunition factory in New York two centuries ago.  The factory is located in the center of the blue-collar village in NY’s Mohawk Valley.

As reported by the NY Post, Remington announced it will be permanently shuttering the original factory early next month, citing the heavy costs of running the historic plant.  Remington will be consolidating its operations in Georgia, where the company says legislation is friendlier to the firearms industry.  The company is still reeling from the lawsuit it was slapped with after the Sandy Hook school massacre.  Beginning in late 2017, Remington began bankruptcy planning,  due to declining sales and declining reputation and lawsuits.

With some $950 million worth of debt, Remington filed for bankruptcy in March 2018, but it was able to exit bankruptcy just two month later in May 2018.  The bankruptcy, however, led to new ownership of the Ilion plant, where the workforce has dwindled from a high of around 1,300 workers more than a decade ago, down to just 300.  That is after Remington already moved about 100 Remington jobs from NY to Alabama in 2014.  Per Wikipedia, even then the company had blamed the NY SAFE Act for the company’s decision to relocate, and had expressed fears about the future of the New York facility.

The four-story, brick plant near Armory Street and Remington Avenue, situated about 55 miles east of Syracuse, loomed over the Ilion community.

Residents of Ilion are now bracing for Remington’s exit, saying this will mark the end of an era.  Residents wonder what will become of their village and all the employees who made their living working there.  The village of 7,600 people, expects a dramatic revenue loss and uncertainty as to what will replace the massive factory, once it is vacated.  “When Remington leaves, it’s not going to be like a facility leaving, it’s going to be like part of your family has moved off,” said Jim Conover, who started working  at Remington in 1964 packing guns and retired 40 years later as a production manager.

Per the Post, gun-making was Ilion’s signature, similar to how Detroit, MI was defined by its car production factories.  Everyone knows someone who works in the plant, and in many families working there is a birthright that moves from generation to generation.  “My mom worked there. My dad worked there. My wife works there with me now. My daughter works there with me now. My second daughter  works there with me now. And my son-in-law works there,” said Furnace operator and technician Frank “Rusty” Brown, president of the United Mine Workers of America Local 717. “So it’s a double-hit for me and my wife: two of us out of a job.”

RemArms, the current owners of Remington Firearms, blamed “production inefficiencies” for the plant closure, as per a Nov. 30 letter  to union officials.  The owners cited the high cost of maintaining and insuring about 1 million square feet of space in multiple aging buildings, many dating back to World War I.  While clearly, Remington is shifting to the South to reduce labor and operational  costs, friendly legislation is also part of the decision.   RemArms added that Georgia offers a better environment, as it “supports and welcomes the firearms industry.”