imschur Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Freedom Group at it once again. First Bushmaster and now Marlin and EotacNorth Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - Employees at Marlin Firearms in North Haven just got word late Thursday afternoon that they will be losing their jobs in the next 18 months.265 people will be losing their jobs. The layoff will begin in May and the plant will be closed by June of 2011. The company tells News Channel 8 that they are moving the work out of state.Employees we spoke with say they feel blindsided."We had a meeting at 3:30pm. They gonna phase us out," said one employee who has worked at Marlin for 19 years.Founded by John Marlin in New Haven in 1870, Marlin Firearms is now headquartered in Madison, North Carolina. In 2007, Marlin was sold to the Remington Arms Company.The North Haven plant manufactures a variety of rifles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Salt Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 My understanding is that they expanded the Remington plant in Mayfield, KY to house the Marlin line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microgunner Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Connecticut looses yet another firearms manufacturer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imschur Posted April 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Yes they did consolidate. I am very uncomfortable with how much of the firearm industry Cerberus/Freedom Group controls. I will also be these moves and consolidations do not result in a one for one hire for the jobs lost in CT, Maine and elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imschur Posted April 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Connecticut looses yet another firearms manufacturer.I honestly cant believe there's any left. If I recall correctly we still have Ruger headquarters, Colt, Stag, Seecamp, Mossberg. There's a high end shotgun manufacturer but I can recall the name. We also still have some spillover for the parts with C Products, Mec Car, Wilson Barrels and probably a few I have forgotten.CT truly has bitten the hand that fed it for decades. With this high capacity magazine ban most likely going to happen what are CP and Mec Car going to do. Stay here and produce an illegal product?I remember a few years ago I believe it was that ass Chris Dodd came on the news and stated the the state of CT would no longer give cash and incentives to Colt because it was a hypocrisy to ban their hardware by name and give then tax payer money to help the business survive. The state could care less about all the jobs.We need to change our license plate from the constitution state to the welfare state or maybe police state >:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmurff Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Is it just Freedom Group management or has CT been making it harder on arms manufacturers, beside the restrictions on local gun owners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imschur Posted April 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Two separate evils i just combined them for a rant. Freedom Group is owned by a venture capital company called Cerberus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Joe Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Does anyone know if Marlin still going to continue to produce the same products for a while? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imschur Posted April 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Yes according to one of the links I read yesterday the lever actions are still pretty popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Joe Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 Considering the whole purpose of this website, perhaps Marlin is feeling the results of not changing with the times. Sig, S&W, etc., have come out with new tactical type .22's, and there are even new gun companies selling rifles, such as ISSC. Even Mossberg slapped tactical stock pieces on its old entry level autoloader and squeezed some more sales out of it. Marlin did not even try Rather, its owner, Remington did not even try.As is clear from the actions of the guys on this website, the demand for new, quality products is out there. The prices we pay are sometimes triple what some Marlin .22 rifles sell for. Even they should be able to make money selling .22's for four to five hundred dollars a gun. Come on Marlin, open a Brownells catalog, for Pete's sake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imschur Posted April 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 I agree, Marlins customer base has got to be shrinking. Even if the lever actions do sell well currently I have to think the fan base is shrinking. BTW make no mistake Ruger sells more 10/22's then all these other tactical 22's combined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Joe Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 It is true that Ruger sells a lot of its rifles, but they seem to be putting out more new models lately. This is what is weird to me: If you go to look at guns on a website, say Buds, some guns, like the Buckmarks or some of the S&W's or that German 1911 .22 are always out of stock it seems. While others, on the other hand, are always on sale. In most industries, competition would drive the competition to offer a like product in quality. Yet, even though there are a ton of manufacturers, the same guns are always out of stock. It seems once they start to make a gun, they just keep on making it, regardless of whether it sells like they want it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imschur Posted April 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 I think the difference is that the imported guns come over the ocean in batches versus domestic manufacturers that can offer a steady stream of popular models if they so choose. Additionally many firearms are often only made a few times per year. DPMS will Tell you it can take 3 months to two years to get an LR-308 SASS.This also brings up a capacity issue for all Cerberus/FG brands. Will they expand to accommodate bringing all the brands under 2 or 3 roofs or will they just create a demand with a long lead time. Hell I canceled a barrel order after a year with DPMS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techmike Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 I heard something a few months ago that this exodus from the Northeast had to do with companies moving away from union contracts, and to right to work states. I think it was an ammo factory that I read about, the union kept turning down offers from the company, now all the jobs moved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Joe Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 Well, there is only one thing to do. Buy more guns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imschur Posted April 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 The unions sure were a big factor in many of these moves and closings. Winchester was in the news here for weeks. They stood their ground and lost their jobs. We see the same issue with many of the companies that compete for military contracts. Companies like sikorsky, pratt & whitney and electric boat.Connecticut is one of the most expensive states to live and do business. Very business unfriendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmurff Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 I own a Marlin 925R bolt action .22 and have looked at their website often. I looked last night and all they appear to have done for the new year is rename the .22 bolt actions they already had, no neat modifications anything.Marlin hasn't change with the times, and Marlin PR leaves a lot to be desired. Even their web site is stale and the store sells only the exact same items it sold 3 years ago when I bought my rifle.They want part of the pie they need to tacticool up a Marlin 60, or Military Sniperize (doubt that is a word) one of their bolt action rifles. Somehow they forgot shooting .22s is suppose to be fun! Nor do they appear to go after the Cowboy action group with their lever action line-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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