Ilion, N.Y. – The Remington gun factory that has called New York’s Mohawk Valley home for more than 200 years is ready to close its doors and move to Georgia due to Democrat-controlled politics that are damaging its business.
Remington, the nation’s oldest gun manufacturer, told union officials late last year that company bosses at RemArms made the decision to end its New York manufacturing in March. The remaining operations located in Ilion, New York will move to Georgia, where company officials said the firearms industry is supported and welcomed, FOX Business reported.
Closure of the Illion Village location will result in about 300 people losing their jobs in a town of roughly 7,600. It is located roughly 230 miles northwest of New York City.
Illion Mayor John P. Stephens told the Daily Mail that the village expects to lose $1 million in revenue as a result of the move. Moreover, other local businesses will also feel a financial hit with Remington’s departure.
”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 said.
“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 emphasized.
“Two hundred and eight years of history. Gone, gone,” Stephens told The New York Times. “Ilion is Remington. Remington is Ilion.”
New York’s loss is Georgia’s gain. The company’s CEO said last year that they are “excited” about the move to a state that embraces the Second Amendment.
“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 previously 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.”
Meanwhile, some residents in Ilion Village feel a sense of sorrow as the move occurrs, saying the company will take part of the town’s identity with it.
“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.
Frank “Rusty” Brown, a furnace operator and factory technician, told the AP that he and generations of his family were employed at the landmark facility. Now, loved ones who are currently employed will be out of work as a result of the move.
“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.”
GOP state Sen. Mark Walczyk and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) both previously chastised New York’s restrictive gun laws created by Democrats for the move.
Walczyk pinned blame on New York’s Gun Industry Liability Law signed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2021 for pushing the company out of state, FOX Business reported.
According to the Times Union, Stefanik said in December, “Hochul must stop her unconstitutional assault on the Second Amendment now.”
Remington is not the first gun manufacturer to flee from a deep blue state. Last year, Smith & Wesson officially relocated its headquarters from Democrat-led Massachusetts to Republican-led Tennessee.
