After New York State passed the “SAFE Act” gun control law, there were fears that Remington Arms, a major employer in the economically depressed upstate area would leave.
Slowly, that appears to be happening. First, Remington announced it was opening a plant in Alabama, for future expansion. But politicians assured us that the jobs in Upstate were safe.
Now we learn that Remington is moving two production lines out of New York to Alabama, and the jobs are going with them.
The Buffalo News reports…
Remington to move production of two gun lines from New York to AlabamaNearly 200 years after Eliphalet Remington II forged his first rifle in Ilion, residents of the small central New York village are getting the bad news they have feared for more than a year: Remington Arms is moving production of two of its gun lines to Alabama.While the company did not announce the outright closing of the facility that has been home to Remington since 1816, gun rights advocates said that day is now likely moving closer and they blame the state’s 2013 NY SAFE Act gun control law.“This could very well be the beginning of the end of Ilion,’’ said Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, the state chapter for the National Rifle Association.
Syracuse.com is reporting that even if workers want to move, there’s no guarantee they can keep their jobs…
Eighty Remington workers will be laid off in the coming months with no guarantees of future jobs as New York’s oldest gun maker shifts two assembly lines from Ilion to Alabama, a union official said this evening.”You’re not guaranteed a job,” said Fran Madore, president of United Mine Workers Local 717. “You have a fill out an application. There’s no incentive to go.”Madore said other jobs in Ilion are affected by Remington’s decision to start making its Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle and 1911 pistol at a new plant in Alabama. Madore didn’t know specifics outside of his union members.
I feel bad for the people who are losing their jobs. Let this serve as a reminder that over regulation from progressives often impacts businesses and job creators. Badly.
Featured image is a screen cap from the Remington website.
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