Remington Arms, a firearms manufacturer that was founded in the Mohawk Valley, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, raising concerns about what will become of the company's Herkimer County plant.
Remington got its start in the Village of Ilion more than 200 years ago. Although the company is now headquartered in North Carolina, the Ilion facility is considered one of its most profitable manufacturers. With roughly 900 employees there, Ilion Mayor Terry Leonard - a former Remington employee himself - says it's critically important to the area.
"The entire Herkimer County is only 62,000 people and nearly 1,000 of those work in Remington, so the impact of Remington is not just the village of Ilion, but the entire region of the southern Mohawk Valley," Leonard said.
In bankruptcy court documents, representatives for the company said Remington ramped up its firearms production in 2016 to meet an expected increase in demand in 2017, but that never materialized. Declining revenues then hampered its ability to cover expenses and debt.
Remington did not respond to WRVO's request for comment about what will become of the Ilion plant, which has been subject to layoffs in the past. But on Facebook, Mohawk Valley Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New Hartford) said she has been in contact with Remington's team and says there will be no job losses and no plans to relocate the facility at this time. Tenney says the Chapter 11 filing is solely for restructuring debt to equity.
