Gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson notified the state this week that it plans to shutter its facility in Deep River next year, resulting in 129 layoffs.
Smith & Wesson, which is currently headquartered in Springfield, Mass., makes products such as pistols, revolvers, long guns, knives and watches.
In a letter dated May 26 to the state Department of Labor, the company indicated it plans to permanently close its facility at 12 Bridge St., in Deep River as of Dec. 31, 2024.
The layoffs will begin on Aug. 4, 2023 and continue through Dec. 31, 2024, according to Rachel Reel, the company’s director of human resources.
A timetable of planned worker separations shows employees will be let go periodically over the course of the next several months, with the bulk of them, or 71, leaving in December 2024.
The impacted employees have various titles, such as machine operators, engineers, quality inspectors, maintenance technicians, cell molding leads, mold makers and logistics operators.
The company announced in September 2021 that it planned to move its Massachusetts headquarters and 750 jobs to Maryville, Tennessee.
At the time of the announcement, the company cited factors such as restrictive gun legislation in Massachusetts, compared with more affordability and more support for the Second Amendment in Tennessee. Smith & Wesson also indicated it would close facilities in Connecticut and Missouri as part of its consolidation in Tennessee, while still maintaining some Massachusetts operations.
Construction workers broke ground on the new Tennessee facility in late 2021. The company has indicated the new headquarters is expected to be finished in 2023.
Smith & Wesson has been based in Springfield, Mass. since its incorporation in 1852.
David Cadden, professor emeritus of entrepreneurship and strategy in the School of Business at Quinnipiac University, called the closure announcement “disappointing.”
“However, it should not be that surprising,” Cadden said. “Connecticut has been the home of many of America’s largest arms manufacturers. In fact, Connecticut was known as a gun manufacturing state in the late 19th and early 20th century. In 2021, Smith & Wesson announced it was moving its corporate headquarters from Massachusetts to Tennessee. It would be consistent that it would begin transferring manufacturing to more ‘gun-friendly’ states.”
