A historic New York village faces 'losing its soul' after the nation's oldest gunmaker, Remington, announced plans to shut its massive firearms factory next month - leaving entire families without work. Eliphalet Remington forged his first rifle barrel in the village of Ilion in 1816 and over the next two centuries, his business grew into a one million square feet factory with thousands of employees. But in December, the current Remington owners, RemArms, revealed it was moving operations to gun-friendly Georgia, and making 270 people redundant.

With a population of just 7,600, the factory has long been the town's main employer. Now, Mayor John Stephens, 57, said the village is set to lose $1 million in revenue when the plant closes, while local businesses will also take a 'great financial hit' - and that's on top of the emotional toll.

In a letter to union officials in November, the current owners of Remington Firearms, RemArms, blamed 'production inefficiencies' for the plant closure. They cited the high cost of maintaining and insuring the one million square feet (92,903 square meters) of space in multiple buildings - many of which date back to World War I. RemArms added that Georgia offered an environment that better 'supports and welcomes the firearms industry.' New York Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik blamed the state's gun laws for the closure. In a statement, she said: 'New York Democrats’ unconstitutional gun-grab policies have pushed significant businesses out of the state. Another former employee, David Brewer, wrote on ********: 'I spent 34 years there and it is sad to see it go but the governor wants to make a name for herself for the do gooders and not punish the criminals but punish the law-abiding citizens.'

Remington is not the first firearms maker to commit to a more gun-friendly state. Smith & Wesson opened its new Tennessee headquarters in October after being based in Springfield, Massachusetts, since 1852. Announcing the move in 2021, company officials criticized proposed state legislation they said would prohibit them from manufacturing certain weapons. The previous owners of Remington were forced to file for bankruptcy after the company was sued in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre where 20 first graders and six adults were killed by a shooter using a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle. Family members of victims and a survivor of the shooting filed a lawsuit against Remington in 2015 and settled in 2022 for $73 million. RemArms took over ownership of the factory but the workforce has still dwindled from about 1,300 workers a decade ago to 270 now.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...remington.html

Communists running historical family businesses out of the state. Way to go chitheads...

I hope the company owners find success in their new location.