ILION, N.Y. – Herkimer County Legislature Chairman Vincent Bono says officials with Remington Arms have confirmed that the facility will close to all but salary-based employees until at least April 30.
Any non-essential, hourly employees will not have to report to work after close of business Friday.
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered all employees in non-essential industries and businesses to stay home during his daily press conference Friday morning.
NEWSChannel 2 has reached out directly to Remington Arms for comment, but no one from their corporate office has responded.
Vincent Bono says this is a huge hit for the county financially, "We are certainly concerned on how this will greatly effect the economic impact of Herkimer County while cognizant of the health concerns to workers. We know that Remington Arms is about 1/7th of the total economy of Herkimer County. This will be devastating to those workers and their families."
Bono, during a Friday morning press conference, said he expected the county to lose about $1.2 million in sales tax revenue this year due to businesses shutting down, but he says now that number will be even higher with Remington's news of a shutdown Friday afternoon.
Ilion Mayor Brian Lamica say anytime you hear people being sent home from work it’s not good, "Right now we need to get this fire under control and do what the Governor is asking us to do and to stay home and take care of our family. The economic impact of them shutting down from now until the end of April, or depends on how long they have to end up staying shut down, it could be devastating to our whole entire area. And not just Remington, they are the largest part, but there’s a lot of the other smaller businesses that have been asked to close as well, it’s going to be an impact felt by many. It’s going to be a pinch that we’re all going to have to feel and I think frankly we're just going to have to get used to it right now and do what you’re asked to do to try to contain the virus and then when it’s all said and done, then we can get back to work and get things moving again and get us all back on track."
