When Will Remington Employees Go Back to Work?

Former employees of Remington Arms in Ilion are still waiting to go back to work and right now, they have no idea when they'll be returning.

Some 200 workers were expecting to go back in a staggered return on March 1st and March 8th, but so far, all of those workers have been told the reopening has been delayed. Employees say they received the communication from the new company just prior to their return and there was no word on how long the delay will last.  A former employee said workers were told, "if you haven't been called yet and told to stay home, you'll be getting a call soon." Some employees did not get the call last week and were turned away at the door on Monday morning when they arrived, according to Syracuse.com.

Remington's new owner, the Roundhill Group had planned to restart production on March 1st. Employees told WIBX they were told that initially, maintenance and machinists would return first, and about 200 assembly line workers would then follow this week. They say they were told that eventually, they would be returning to a workforce of between 800 and 1,000 workers once sales and production ramped up.

"This is getting very old," one worker told WIBX. "I just want to go back to work."

Meanwhile, former employees of the "old Remington" are expecting a decision this week on the bankruptcy court's decision regarding their 401K investments, severance pay, and other benefits owed, after the United Mine Workers Union negotiated for at least a percentage of that money. Last week, the union held a virtual town hall meeting and said they're confident that a resolution will come in March. They say while workers won't get 100% of what they're owed, they feel a satisfactory settlement will be reached very soon. Workers say that decision could come as early as Monday.

Last month, Roundhill reached an agreement with the Herkimer County IDA on a 10-year tax break deal that according to officials, will mean a 50-percent tax break in year one for the new Remington, with a 5-percent annual increase over the following 10-years.

Bankruptcy documents also show that Roundhill is still in a dispute with the old Remington company over assets, machinery and licensing that was part of the bankruptcy sale, where Remington's holdings were split up between six companies. Roundhill purchased the Remington firearms business, excluding the Marlin brand, for $13 million.

Remington is America's oldest gun maker, founded by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion in 1816.