A total of 717 workers at the Remington Arms plant in Ilion face layoffs by around late September as the company goes through bankruptcy proceedings, according to a layoff notice filed last week to the state Department of Labor.
As it stands, the Remington Outdoor Company plans to solicit bids prior to a September auction. The potential impact of these proceedings is outlined in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, notice filed with the state, which indicates layoffs at the Ilion plant could occur Sept. 29 or within two weeks after that date.
Billy Hogue, a Remington media representative, said not much is known as this point other than the plant’s future appears to be in the hands of the court. Remington, based in Alabama, filed for bankruptcy last week the U.S. Bankruptcy court for the Northern District of Alabama.
“The bankruptcy impacts all of our employees at all of our sites: Ilion, Huntsville, Alabama, Madison, North Carolina, Lonoke, Arkansas — every single employee,” Hogue said. “We have no idea what the outcome will be. It’s up for auction and the courts will determine how it’s to be sold — whether all in one piece or separately. We have no idea.”
He could not say how many workers will be impacted overall as Remington is legally constrained as to what the company can say about the situation.
This is the second time in two years Remington has filed for bankruptcy. As for when the auction will take place, Remington has proposed a schedule, but the bankruptcy court has not yet confirmed it.
Employers are required to file a WARN notice with the Department of Labor if there is a possibility they could close a plant and/or lay off more than a certain number of workers, said Karin Piseck, of Herkimer County Working Solutions. Employers with fewer than 50 full-time employees are not required to file WARN notices, according to the Department of Labor.
After they are filed with the state, WARN notices are passed to Alice J. Savino, executive director of the Workforce Development Board of Herkimer, Oneida and Madison County, who sends it on the Herkimer County office, Piseck said.
If layoffs occur, Piseck said her agency would be notified and would reach out with services to make sure those impacted know how to file for unemployment.
Ilion Mayor Brian Lamica said a Remington employee told him he and the other employees had received a letter about the WARN notice, but Lamica had not seen the letter.
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