RemArms, the current version of Remington Arms, will close its Ilion facility in early March, according to a letter the company sent union officials on Thursday.

“I am writing to inform you that RemArms, LLC (“the Company”) has decided to close its entire operations at 14 Hoefler Avenue, Ilion, NY 13357 (the “Ilion Facility”),” begins the letter ending two centuries of history. “The Company expects that operations at the Ilion Facility will conclude on or about March 4, 2024. The Company did not arrive at this decision lightly.”

The layoffs should take place between March 4 and March 18, wrote Brian Wheatley, director of benefits and compensation for the firm in Kernersville, North Carolina, to officials with the United Mine Workers of America. A view of the Remington Arms factory from the top of Second St. in Ilion.

Remington, the nation’s oldest gunmaker, was founded in Ilion, producing firearms there since 1816. Over the years, the facility has seen layoffs, temporary closures and bankruptcy, but through it all, generations of local families have worked at the plant, which currently employs about 270 workers, according to its union.