Efforts have begun to mitigate the economic impact from the decision by a major manufacturer with an iconic brand name to leave western Massachusetts.
More than 500 jobs will be eliminated when Smith & Wesson moves its headquarters and other parts of its operations to Tennessee in 2023 – leaving Springfield, the city the gun maker has called home for 170 years.
“Devastating news for the 550 employees and their families,” said Mayor Domenic Sarno.
He called it a “difficult day” for the city.
Sarno said it was heartening that within hours of Smith & Wesson’s announcement Thursday morning he heard from the chairman of the regional employment board and the head of a local manufacturing company about coordinating job placement and retraining.
“I’ll continue to do whatever is in my power to help out the employees and their families,” said Sarno.
Smith & Wesson plans to keep about 1,000 jobs in Massachusetts. He said it is a priority to retain the jobs.
“T hese are good-paying jobs,” said Sarno.
There will also be a ripple effect on local businesses that supply goods and services to Smith & Wesson.
Company officials said during a call with investors Thursday that the Springfield factory will be used to produce parts. All final assembly work will be done at a $120 million facility Smith & Wesson plans to build in Maryville, Tennessee.
Smith & Wesson CEO Mark Smith said the company is leaving Massachusetts because it can no longer tolerate the political climate. He pointed specifically to a law proposed on Beacon Hill that, if passed, would prohibit the company from manufacturing AR-15-type firearms except for sale to the military and law enforcement.
“This has been an extremely difficult and emotional decision for us,” said Smith. “But after an exhaustive and thorough analysis, for the continued health and strength of our iconic company, we feel that we have been left with no other alternative.”
In a press release, Smith & Wesson heralded Tennessee politicians for their “unwavering support for the 2nd Amendment.”
Democratic State Rep. Bud Williams of Springfield, who supports the gun manufacturing bill, believes the company’s decision was all about the bottom line and lower labor costs in Tennessee.
“I think it is all business,” said Williams, noting that the legislation has not even gone through a hearing.
“I think it is all about profit,” he said. He said that under the proposed bill Smith & Wesson could still manufacture firearms for the military and law enforcement.
“What we’re trying to do is take the assault weapons out of the hands of the average citizens who are doing these mass murders.” said Williams.
Western Massachusetts and Connecticut hold a storied place in America’s history of manufacturing innovation and of guns. But after a Smith & Wesson-made assault-style rifle was used at the school shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018, the presence of the company in Massachusetts became more controversial.
Rev. Lauren Holm, pastor at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Springfield and chair of Nonviolent Springfield Coalition, participated in several protests outside the gun maker’s headquarters and factory on Roosevelt Ave.
“While many people look at Smith & Wesson as a terrific employer and providing good-paying jobs for people in this area, what has troubled us is that they sell weapons we believe should be limited to military use to individuals,” said Holm.
Smith & Wesson is the latest in what one gun industry group called a “migration” from the Northeast to points south.
Colt has gradually downsized operations in its longtime home in Connecticut. Remington closed a factory in New York laying off 600 and transferred the work to Alabama. Earlier this year, Troy Industries, a West Springfield-based manufacturing of gun parts announced it will move to Tennessee.
