Locked stock and barrel: America's oldest gun maker Remington to shutter its New York plant this month after 200 and move operations to Georgia

The nation's oldest gunmaker, Remington, confirmed it will shut its massive firearms factory this month in Ilion, New York, and head to Georgia - leaving entire families without work and the town's mayor searching for answers.

Eliphalet Remington forged his first rifle barrel in the village of Ilion in 1816 and over the next two centuries, his business grew into a 1 million square feet factory with thousands of employees. 

But in December, the current Remington owners, RemArms, revealed it was moving operations to gun-friendly Georgia and making 270 people redundant. The mayor confirmed this week the move will happen this month.

With a population of just 7,600, the factory has long been the town's main employer and Mayor John Stephens worries about Ilion's immediate future. 

'It's gonna be tough for a little while,' Stephens said. 'The local businesses are definitely going to see a little bit of a downtick. But again, 300 versus 1,500. It's a little bit easier to swallow, but it still doesn't make things any easier.'

The nation's oldest gunmaker, Remington, confirmed it will shut its massive firearms factory this month in Ilion, New York, and move to Georgia - leaving entire families without work and its Mayor John Stephens searching for answers

Stephens - who has confessed previously that revenue losses from the closure may be as great as $1 million - said coming up with a budget for the next 12 months may be the greatest challenge he faces without the factory. 

'This year, we're going to be very, very stringent,' he told Fox News but noted that he and his cabinet were going to make it work. 

'It's going to be very tight. But when we started our budget process, which we're just winding up...we started out with a 30 percent tax increase, if we had to cover everything that we were going to lose.' 

'And through the hard work of myself, the village board and our village treasurer, we're looking at something between two and three per cent as a tax increase, and that's without cutting any services,' he added. 

Stephens said  his residents are quick to blame New York State's liberal leaders, who have led the charge in passing anti-gun laws, but while they share some of the blame, that doesn't paint the entire picture.

'Do I think that New York's political climate is partially the reason? Yeah. Yeah, I do. But I think that's probably the … lesser of the reasons. The folks that currently own RemArms made a business decision,' he said. 

'And some of their reasons were spot on, some of them I don't agree with. The factory is definitely probably inefficient for production nowadays,' Stephens admitted.

He's still asking Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul to work with them to help save the town.

The 1 million square foot Remington plant in Ilion, New York 

The plant has been in the town for over to hundred years, this photo from 1875 shows the first few blocks

Stephens said it feels like the village is 'losing its identity'

Stephens, 57, said the plant is all he's 'ever known' and there are generations of families who have worked there.

'I need the governor to know. I need our county, our state and our federal elected officials - who are all aware - I just need them to know that we need financial assistance. Next year is probably going to be the toughest year because it'll be the first full year, budget year, without that revenue,' he said. 

Stephens said no matter what happens, he and the people of Ilion will remain steadfast and upbeat.

'We have to remain positive here and not just in Ilion, but in this entire region. We have to be positive that we're going to be able to attract businesses to utilize that facility,' he said. 

'And again, it might be one large business, it might be a couple dozen smaller businesses that can utilize the space. And that's our goal, and I'm optimistic and I'm working every day to accomplish that.' 

Speaking to DailyMail.com a few weeks ago, he said: ''It's like the town is losing its soul. It's almost like losing a family member. That's the thing that people are struggling with, the nostalgia, the history. It feels like we are losing the identity of the town.' 

His own father worked at the plant for 37 years and raised four children on a Remington paycheck.

Stephens said that his residents are quick to blame New York State's liberal leaders, who have led the charge in passing anti-gun laws, but while they share some of the blame, that doesn't paint the entire picture

Stephens is asking federal and local leaders such as Joe Biden and Kathy Hochul for help

The plant has made millions of firearms over the years and branched out into bicycles and typewriters

'There are people that are 100 years old in this village and it's all they've ever known. Ilion is Remington and Remington is Ilion,' he told DailyMail.com.

He also worries about the building sitting empty, saying: 'It's just going to deteriorate over time and then I have an abandoned factory that's falling into itself.' 

Stephens believes those who are made redundant will be able to find work as there are 'plenty of jobs available.'

But that may come as little comfort to those left in the lurch - with some entire families losing their jobs in one hit. 

One of those is furnace operator and technician Frank 'Rusty' Brown who said the move is a 'double-hit' for him and his wife with the two of them out of a job.

He said: 'My mom worked there. My dad worked there. My wife works there with me now. My daughter works there with me now. My second daughter works there with me now. And my son-in-law works there.'

Frank 'Rusty' Brown is devastated about the closure and said it will leave both him and his wife out of a job

A view of the Remington Arms Co. compound in the middle of Ilion, NY

Likewise, posting on Facebook, former Remington worker, Konstanty Patrick Bielanski, said the closure was 'sad news' as it was a 'great place to work'. 

He said: 'Many of us built millions of these rifles to make Remington the best in early 1971 through 2010. How sad it had to end, Ilion will never be the same.' 

In a 2016 promotional video, Remington employee Scott Nichols, said: 'We bring jobs to the area and the earnings from those jobs gets spread out throughout the community.

'It's hard to find somebody in the area that does not have someone that's related or knows somebody. It's easy to walk out on the floor and find somebody that you know.'

In a letter to union officials in November, the current owners of Remington Firearms, RemArms, blamed 'production inefficiencies' for the plant closure.

They cited the high cost of maintaining and insuring the 1 million square feet (92,903 square meters) of space in multiple buildings - many of which date back to World War I.

RemArms added that Georgia offered an environment that better 'supports and welcomes the firearms industry.'

New York Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik blamed the state's gun laws for the closure. 

In a statement, she said: 'New York Democrats' unconstitutional gun-grab policies have pushed significant businesses out of the state.

'History can not be erased. I am proud to represent Ilion, former home base for Remington Arms in Upstate New York. And I will always stand up for our 2A Constitutional Rights!' 

Another former employee, David Brewer, wrote on Facebook: 'I spent 34 years there and it is sad to see it go but the governor wants to make a name for herself for the do gooders and not punish the criminals but punish the law-abiding citizens.'