The two-century-old gun manufacturer Remington Arms, the nucleus of a small Mohawk Valley community, is losing jobs to a more gun-friendly state.
The parent company of Remington, based in Ilion, New York, announced this week it is moving two lines of production work to the company's gleaming new factory in Huntsville, Alabama.
About 1,300 people work at the plant in a town of about 8,000 built around the company. The layoffs will affect between 100-150 jobs, according the state Sen. James Seward's office, a Republican whose district includes Ilion.
One of the lines being moved is the Bushmaster assault weapon, which is now banned from being sold in New York under new, tougher, gun control laws enacted in January 2013, known as the SAFE Act.
That's where Seward lays the blame.
"The fact that the lines being moved out are for products now more strictly regulated in New York due to the overreaching SAFE Act sends a strong, obvious message," he said in a statement.
The two Ilion lines heading to Alabama are not the only consolidations being made. Remington is moving production from six other sites, including ones in Montana and Utah, to Alabama.
A large government subsidy and friendly gun laws have lured Remington to the state.
Representatives from Remington have not returned messages, but in a statement issued to media outlets, spokesman Teddy Novin said the efforts are to improve efficiency.
This was a strategic business decision to concentrate our resources into fewer locations and improve manufacturing efficiency and quality. We are working hard to retain as many from the affected facilities as possible.
The job losses in Ilion will begin in July, a spokesman in Seward's office said.
Calls to a union representative at the Remington plant haven't yet been returned.
