GUNS/RLTD NY village 'losing its soul' as nation's oldest gun manufacturer flees blue state for Georgia

[Bud in Fla]

Looks like it was announced in Nov 2021. Guess they're serious. Another case of FAFO!

NY village 'losing its soul' as nation's oldest gun manufacturer flees blue state for Georgia

America's oldest gun manufacture, Remington, will officially move out of its longtime location in New York to Georgia, which locals are lamenting.

www.foxbusiness.com

The Remington gun factory nestled in New York’s Mohawk Valley is ready to shutter its doors and move to Georgia after more than 200 years in the Empire State.

"Two hundred and eight years of history. Gone, gone," Ilion, New York, Mayor John P. Stephens told the New York Times. "Ilion is Remington. Remington is Ilion."

Remington is the nation’s oldest gun manufacturer and told union officials late last year that company chiefs at RemArms, the current version of Remington Arms, made the decision to end its New York manufacturing come March. The remaining operations located in Ilion will move to Georgia, where company leaders say the firearms industry is supported and welcomed.

Residents of the New York village, which is located roughly 230 miles northwest of New York City, are bracing for the manufacturer to officially move, which some say will take part of the town’s identity with it.

A view of the Remington Arms Co., Inc. compound in the middle of Ilion, New York, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. The nation’s oldest gun-maker is consolidating operations in Georgia and recently announced plans to shutter the Ilion factory in early March. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
"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," Jim Conover, a retired Remington employee who began his career there in 1964, told The Associated Press.

A furnace operator and technician at the factory, Frank "Rusty" Brown, told the outlet that he and generations of his family worked at the facility and noted he and his wife will be out of jobs.

Frank "Rusty" Brown poses for a picture at the union office, across the street from the Remington Arms Co. compound, in Ilion, New York, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
"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," Brown said. "So it’s a double-hit for me and my wife: two of us out of a job."

The closure of the New York location will result in about 300 people losing their jobs in a town of roughly 7,600. The mayor of Ilion told the Daily Mail that the village is expected to lose $1 million in revenue due to the move, in addition to other local businesses taking a financial hit.

''It's like the town is losing its soul. It's almost like losing a family member. That's the thing that people are struggling with, the nostalgia, the history. It feels like we are losing the identity of the town," Stephens told the outlet.

Manufacture of small arms at the Remington Arms Co. Assembly room on Aug. 16, 1917. (Getty Images)
"I've spoken to a few businesses, that's the part financially that's going to hurt. Even if it's only 300 people, they still buy gas, they still buy shoes. That's going to be a hit to the local businesses," he added.

The company, which was sold in 1993, again in 2007 and again in 2020, was rocked by financial woes in recent years, including filing for bankruptcy in 2018 and 2020. In 2022, the company paid $73 million as part of a lawsuit stemming from the Sandy Hook mass shooting in 2012.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik and state Sen. Mark Walczyk both previously blamed New York’s restrictive gun laws for the move.

"Hochul must stop her unconstitutional assault on the Second Amendment now," Stefanik said in December, according to the Times Union.

Street names reflect the importance of Remington Arms Co., in the village of Ilion, New York, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. The nation’s oldest gun-maker is consolidating operations in Georgia and recently announced plans to shutter the Ilion factory in ea (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Walczyk pinned blame on New York’s Gun Industry Liability Law for pushing the company out of the state. The law, which was signed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2021, allows gun makers to be sued if they "knowingly or recklessly create, maintain or contribute" to violence.

The company's CEO said in a statement late last year that they are "excited" about the move to a state that embraces the Second Amendment.

Remington rifles are displayed during the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on May 5, 2018 in Dallas. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

"We are very excited to come to Georgia, a state that not only welcomes business but enthusiastically supports and welcomes companies in the firearms industry," RemArms CEO Ken D'Arcy said in a statement. "Everyone involved in this process has shown how important business is to the state and how welcoming they are to all business, including the firearms industry."

Remington is not the first gun manufacturer to shutter its doors in the northeast for states down south. Smith & Wesson moved from Springfield, Massachusetts, last year, where the company had been located since 1852, to Tennessee.

 

[Publius]

N.Y. the Loser State.

 

[RB Martin]

Good for them! New York has earned this!

 

[Griz3752]

Too bad about the employees

 

[RB Martin]

Too bad about the employees

Their drop in taxes would probably pay for the move!

 

[tnphil]

Too bad about the employees

Like the "immigrants" who need to stay home and fix their own countries, folks who live in Commie states need to do something other than vote. Speak up for yourselves. Look at all the squeaky wheels getting greased-they're all liberals, Marxists, etc. Conservatives are generally busy earning a living and paying taxes, but they need to stop blindly and silently accepting the insanity, thinking that mere voting will fix it - it will not. They need to make their voices (and displeasure) heard. And felt, if possible.

 

[West]

Interesting, the manufacturers of old moving to the south.

Hopefully the south rises again. This time for good.

 

[Infoscout]

Remington pulled out of N.C., they can go spit for all I care!

 

[Jeep]

Remington pulled out of N.C., they can go spit for all I care!

IIRC, our idiot governor Coop the Poop had something to do with that happening.

 

[tnphil]

Interesting, the manufacturers of old moving to the south.

Hopefully the south rises again. This time for good.

Interestingly, my 7th (approximate, can't recall) grandpappy Robert Baker of Baker rifle fame (also called Pennsylvania or Kentucky long rifle) made rifles in PA, dying in 1728. His son Caleb took over. Before 1760, the family and business moved en masse from Pennsylvania to Virginia.

I think some states were more "friendly" to business even at that early time.

 

[Zardoz]

When people Stop Flapping their Gums and Start Taking ACTION, things will improve. So, it seems like Never Going To Happen is our Future. Sad.

 

[naegling62]

Interesting, the manufacturers of old moving to the south.

Hopefully the south rises again. This time for good.

Yep it's a ploy, this go around we're planning ahead.

 

[jward]

I'm not sure Georgia is going to be much more than a very short term solution for them, but always gotta give mad props to peeps who do SOMETHING other than talk
:: applause ::

Think Chicago lost some KFC too... Hope there are some aggressive efforts afoot to woo the abused by the solid red states- and to keep them RED.

 

[Countrymouse]

YA-HOO!!!

Come on down, ya'll!

 

[Countrymouse]

Too bad about the employees

They'd be better off if THEY moved, too!

As long as they leave their Yankee liberalism behind them in NY!

Oh, and their unions, too!

 

[Countrymouse]

Looks like they're moving to LaGrange--per this older article from 2021.

At that time, the company planned to keep 'some' of its operations in Ilion.

Wonder how much the Trump "fraud" decision of the NY Supreme Court hastened their decision to shut it ALL down and vamoose?

Remington Arms moving headquarters to Georgia: What we know now

The owner of Remington Arms will relocate its headquarters to Georgia; Ilion manufacturing operation will continue. Here's what we know.

www.uticaod.com

Remington Arms moving headquarters to Georgia: What we know now​

Donna Thompson
Observer-Dispatch






Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp announced on Monday that Remington Firearms (RemArms) would move its headquarters to and open a factory and research operation in Georgia.
The company and Georgia officials announced that the gun manufacturer, which started in Herkimer County in 1816, would invest $100 million in the operation in LaGrange, Georgia, hiring 856 people over five years.
Here's what we know now about the move:

Why is Remington Arms moving to Georgia?​

"The decision to locate in Georgia is very simple, the state of Georgia is not only a business-friendly state, it’s a firearms friendly state," said CEO Ken D'Arcy.
"The Remington 'firearms' assets of Remington Outdoors Company were acquired through the bankruptcy by the Roundhill Group," he explained.
"At the time of this acquisition the firearms group corporate headquarters, research and development group and some manufacturing, was located in Huntsville, Alabama. To be clear, none of this was located outside of Alabama."
RemingtonArms:Company moving headquarters from Ilion to Georgia; local jobs impact unclear
Remington Arms:Timeline of recent events at nation's oldest gun-maker
RemingtonArms:Gun-maker brings back 230 Remington employees at Ilion plant
RemingtonArms:Herkimer County IDA OKs tax breaks for gun-maker

Is Remington Arms leaving New York?​

Production will continue in Ilion.

"We are very pleased with the work being done and are confident we will be able to increase production in Ilion as needed," D'Arcy said, adding that the company is attempting to hire more employees.

What are Herkimer County officials saying?​

Herkimer County Executive Jim Wallace says his understanding is that RemArms will continue manufacturing guns in Ilion and could be adding more employees.

The Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) had had no direct contact with RemArms owners in recent months, although the agency had reached out to them, said Board Chairman Vincent J. Bono. If the Ilion plant had been slated to close, it would have had a detrimental impact on the village of Ilion, Herkimer County and the region, he said.
In a statement, U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-New Hartford, said "Remington Arms has been a staple of the Mohawk Valley since 1816, providing good manufacturing jobs to generations of New York families." Tenney added that she was in touch with local stakeholders and "will continue to do all I can to advocate on behalf of Remington’s workforce and the Herkimer County community."

 

[Repairman-Jack]

I'm not sure Georgia is going to be much more than a very short term solution for them, but always gotta give mad props to peeps who do SOMETHING other than talk
:: applause ::

Think Chicago lost some KFC too... Hope there are some aggressive efforts afoot to woo the abused by the solid red states- and to keep them RED.

Yes, when I saw Georgia, I thought they should have found a redder State.

 

[Blacknarwhal]

Like the "immigrants" who need to stay home and fix their own countries, folks who live in Commie states need to do something other than vote. Speak up for yourselves. Look at all the squeaky wheels getting greased-they're all liberals, Marxists, etc. Conservatives are generally busy earning a living and paying taxes, but they need to stop blindly and silently accepting the insanity, thinking that mere voting will fix it - it will not. They need to make their voices (and displeasure) heard. And felt, if possible.

What? More "protests"? More "marches"? Like those ever worked!

Conservatives also don't do bloodshed very well. They're constrained in that point by their faith. And sadly, that's about the only thing that HASN'T been tried. With the liberal machine called Dominion now pulling the vote out from under regular people, there's not much left. It's not like the conservatives can afford to move. Especially to places where jobs may not be waiting.

 

[Rabbit]

Too bad about the employees

Consequences of attitudes and how you vote, too bad so sad.

They are moving to LaGrange, Ga. It's a nice town, north of Columbus and southwest of Atlanta. Close enough to Atlanta to not be Atlanta.

 

[Housecarl]

What? More "protests"? More "marches"? Like those ever worked!

Conservatives also don't do bloodshed very well. They're constrained in that point by their faith. And sadly, that's about the only thing that HASN'T been tried. With the liberal machine called Dominion now pulling the vote out from under regular people, there's not much left. It's not like the conservatives can afford to move. Especially to places where jobs may not be waiting.

There's also the problem of the red counties being over ruled by NYC in the case of NYS and Chicago in the case of Illinois.

 

[Blacknarwhal]

There's also the problem of the red counties being over ruled by NYC in the case of NYS and Chicago in the case of Illinois.

Everyone in Michigan knows that Detroit / Grand Rapids / Lansing make most of the decisions around here.

 

[Pinecone]

I feel for the people in the village. They may be a deep red community, but they are outvoted by NYC. Just like much of rural Oregon is red, the cities are deep blue and outvote the rest of us regularly. Add in mail in voting, and there is little chance for change. To add insult to injury, more liberals are moving in daily, mostly from liberal WA and CA.

 

[night driver]

Engoron's "Show Trial" had zip to do with the move from Illion.
1) It was a "Soviet Show Trial".
2) The decision was made MONTHS ago.

 

[tnphil]

Engoron's "Show Trial" had zip to do with the move from Illion.
1) It was a "Soviet Show Trial".
2) The decision was made MONTHS ago.

???
Not sure who thought the move was due to that fiasco.
Remington said themselves that they were moving to a more favorable climate for both businesses and guns. Of course the decision was made months ago, NY has been anti-gun for a long time.

 

[subnet]

What? More "protests"? More "marches"? Like those ever worked!

Conservatives also don't do bloodshed very well. They're constrained in that point by their faith. And sadly, that's about the only thing that HASN'T been tried. With the liberal machine called Dominion now pulling the vote out from under regular people, there's not much left. It's not like the conservatives can afford to move. Especially to places where jobs may not be waiting.

"Conservatives also don't do bloodshed very well. They're constrained in that point by their faith."

Nah they have been neutered but can redeem themselves if they can find a pair.
And we wont get into the faith debate as you and i have differing views on this topic.

 

[Iowa Wiley]

???
Not sure who thought the move was due to that fiasco.
Remington said themselves that they were moving to a more favorable climate for both businesses and guns. Of course the decision was made months ago, NY has been anti-gun for a long time.

Their just finishing what they started around 10 years ago. A big chunk of their production and offices went to Alabama around 2014ish. They announced the rest of production going to Georgia in 2021. They finally just decided to put a pin in the rest of it and finishing moving the lock and the stock since the barrel was already moved.

 

[CaBuckeye]

The impact of a major employer shutting down on a small town like this will be devastating to the local population and the vitality of the surrounding area.

ECON 101 - For every dollar of locally produced goods, that same dollar is recycled around five times before it heads out of town. This means the production employee spends his dollar earned at a local business, that pays its employees or pays for a HVAC repairman, utilities or buys other local goods. This dollar keeps on recycling until the dollar is spent outside the local area to bring in out of town value, like China produced goods or raw materials. This cycle can be compared to the Atlantic Ocean thermohaline circulation conveyor belt that is generated by the circulation of hot salt water and what happens to the east coast of N. American and N. Europe, if cold fresh water overcomes the flow. When warm salt water keeps recycling, NA and N. Europe is warm but when this cycle breaks, it has a cascading effect on the entire system and the Alantic basin freezes.

The slide starts slowly. High school/college grads and young to middle age families, without decent jobs available locally, will start move away from the area to find jobs and never return. Local Per capita income will drop like a rock as now people once making very good money now find themselves working for minimum wage at Walmart or the local dollar store. Family savings will soon run out and once middle-class families will start seeing the family car and home being repossessed. No more family vacations, motorcycles, dining out or exspensive clothing. No one without a scholarship will be attending college. The Federal Poverty Level will start climbing into the 40% region.

Foreclosed and voluntary home sales will increase 2 to 3-fold with too few buyers as property values drop like a rock. Houses are abandoned and vastly reduced property tax revenues force local governments to cut capital projects, employees, maintenance activities and eventually employees. Over the years abandoned housing starts to fall apart and occupied as well as no one has money to pay for repairs. In an effort to keep out drug addict, aronists and drug manufacturers, government starts tearing down derelict housing despite the loss in property tax. Lack of upkeep on private and public property starts making the whole area looking like a third world slum.

Local businesses like Auto dealerships, big name department stores, specialty stores, grocery stores and small mom and pop shops that have operated for forty years soon start closing as they go bankrupt. Banks will soon see the writing on the wall and divest themselves of the area. Cheap Capital money becomes non-existent.

Births will decrease and medical facilities will close or decrease services as they switch over to providing specialized senior care. Good Specialist practitioners without good medical insurance will be slaves to Medicare reimbursement as their incomes drop and move to more lucrative environments.

Construction Union's and local tradesmen will see a massive loss of new construction and maintenance activities. Union Strikes and violence against non-union workers and construction will be used to try and maintain the status quo. Efforts to bring in new businesses will fail as Union tactics will backfire and the area becomes an outcast in the business world. They will hang on for a while sitting in the union hall or go out of state seeking work for weeks at a time. Eventually, they will succumb to relocation other areas or states to save their families. Union halls will become ghosttowns. After a decade or so, any skilled labor required will be imported on a as needed basis from out of town.

Once close-knit families will drift apart as relationships, interests, earnings and politics dilute family blood. The suicide rate among entire population will increase as they see their families, fortunes and futures slowly go down the toilet. The population demographics will become primarily senior citizens and schools will close or consolidate to accommodate the lower number of children in the area.

People with nothing to do but collect welfare and SSI sink deeper and deeper into the world of alcohol and drugs. Pain Doctors seeking a quick buck proscribe opioids for non-existent pains on a massive scale. Young and middle-aged people without hope or opportunity start out on beer and marijuana but as they become more resistant to the milder stimulants, start using and eventually become addicted to all the nastier drugs. Overdoses rise to the point while the local government stops disclosing the actual numbers of deaths. As the area descends into hell, drug traffickers move in to collect their share of the carcass.

Crooked Politicians, city and county employees, local lawyers, judges and businessmen will see the opportunity to make a fast buck and swoop in buying foreclosed property for pennies on the dollars and then are given free grants to rehabilitate the same property’s using federal and state tax dollars. Even the Police starting emulating their third world officers and start cooperating in drug and prostitution rings.

What was once a middle-class paradise ever increases on a death spiral that will lasts multiple decades with no light at the end of the table. Where local production dollars are replaced primarily by government Social Security, Medicare, etc. dollars. But this is America, where the State and Federal US Calvary rides in to save the day. Right?? Our local state reps and federal congressmen and senators that we supported all these years will certinly ride in with massive infusions of tax dollars tohelp us to re-estabish our local economy and get us back up on our feet. In reality, once the dollar pump and votes to their campaign stops, the politicians will abandon the area and the people. Some state and federal monies or tax breaks will be flow in but not enough to encourage new business to build in the area or overcome the stink of the old labor issues. No new federal projects will come in as the political support is not there to win the project over other political districts.

Drug OD's will become so rampant that ambulance services will become overwhelm by the number of calls and NOT respond to an OD reported. The government will be forced to go on TV/Radio and ask people not to call 911 for an OD but call another number where a volunteer will go out and administrate NARCAN to the OD.
Governments response to the drug crises will be to provide grant money to any out of state businesses to build tens of Rehab centers in local neighborhoods, next to schools, senior citizen centers, hospitals and surviving businesses and then pay them $500 per month to fill the rooms with drug addicts for rehabilitation. If they can't find enough locals, then they just go out of town and import huge numbers of addicts from other areas. Watching drug addicts’ congregate days and nights on city streets, parks, etc. While hooking up with their out-of-town supplier is a serious treat and does wonders for increasing the tourist trade and supporting local surviving business. Drug suppliers come in from hundreds of miles away to share in the feast.

Quality of life in the area decreases to the point where even government workplaces lose capital upgrades, decrease operations or move out of town as employees fear for lives and local politicians don’t see any advantage of supporting the operations and would rather sale of their vote for other higher priority bills.

What events I wrote here sounds like the rant of deranged anarchist and it probably is but as I have written before, this is exactly what happen to my hometown and what has happened to hundreds of towns in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, West Virgina, Kentucky, etc.

Government will spend billions on a new freeway, high speed railroad or sports stadium but will only invest pennies in re-building our small-town economies. They only see votes as power and small towns don’t have the votes. Cities are taking over our governments and the Democrats are stacking the deck by importing the massive number of illegal immigrants that will be eventually allowed to vote for them in future elections. Until people stop believing the propaganda put out and start thinking for themselves, the death spiral engulfing the nation’s small towns will eventually swallow the entire country.

 

[SlipperySlope]

They shut down their Huntsville, Alabama facility about 3-4 years ago and had to repay the incentives given by the city. They never hired as many people as they said they would. They had many financial problems and have filed bankruptcy more than once.

 

[Macgyver]

I don't think Georgia was a great option.

Tennessee, one of the Dakotas, Iowa or the like probably would have been a better choice.

 

[Griz3752]

Consequences of attitudes and how you vote, too bad so sad.

They are moving to LaGrange, Ga. It's a nice town, north of Columbus and southwest of Atlanta. Close enough to Atlanta to not be Atlanta.

Been through it but never had a reason to stop. It looks like a good place to be.