RemArms, the gun maker behind the Remington brand, has decided to shut down its manufacturing facility in Ilion, New York.
RemArms anticipates the plant will close in March 2024, according to a letter sent to union officials that was obtained by the Observer-Dispatch. The closure will bring to end a long relationship between Remington and the small upstate New York town. The company has been making firearms in Ilion since 1816 and, according to Fox 5, the factory has been around in some form since 1828.
Most Read on IEN:
- Tesla Delivers First Cybertrucks
- Podcast: VW's Job Cuts; U.S. Steel Idles Facility; Tesla's Standoff in Sweden
- 'World's Heaviest Wheeled Crane' Achieves Milestone in First Lift
- Kodiak Launches its First Autonomous Military Prototype Vehicle
In its letter, the company cited several reasons for closing down operations at the Ilion facility. It said the facility requires “excess” handling during production due to its multi-building, multi-story layout. The company also said it’s expensive to run a steam plant with nearly one million square feet of space while facing high costs for maintenance and insurance for buildings that are more than 100 years old.
The news was not welcomed by local union officials.
United Mine Workers President Cecil E. Roberts called the move “extremely disappointing” and a “slap in the face,” considering the holidays are coming up. He said “Merry Christmas from RemArms. The workers in Ilion enabled RemArms to rise from the ashes of the Remington Arms bankruptcy in 2020-21. Without these workers and their dedication to producing the best firearms in the world, this company simply would not exist.”
The Remington parent company has filed for bankruptcy twice in the past few years. The financial woes in part stem from a lawsuit filed against the company by the families of the Sandy Hook victims. In 2012, a shooter used a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle to kill 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.
In 2022, RemArms settled with the families for $73 million.
