It was announced on Friday, January 5th that Ruger would be laying off in total 50 employees. Most of the positions being laid off are not directly tied to manufacturing or the production of firearms. It will primarily be roles in sales, engineering and marketing.

Kevin Reid Sr., Ruger’s Vice President and General Counsel, had this short statement to make in regards to the lay offs²:

It was for the needs of the business and tied to employee performance. At Ruger, we routinely adjust our workforce.

Although it is never positive news to hear layoffs, this does happen to be a smaller layoff in comparison to their overall large workforce of approximately 1,800 – 1,900 employees (roughly a 2.6% – 2.7% reduction)². According to Reid it is more tied to employee performance than an overall slumping firearm industry which was the case for many companies earlier in 2017.

Those 1,800 – 1,900 employees are divided between 4 different locations across the country.

• ¹Newport, NH | Shotguns, Revolvers, 22 Charger Pistols and all Rifles except – SR-556, SR-762, AR-556, Ruger American Centerfire, Ruger American Rimfire and PC4/PC9 Carbines
• ¹Prescott, AZ | PC4/PC9 Carbines and all Pistols except – 22 Charger Pistol, SR22 Pistol & LCP w/ serial number prefix lower than 3720
• ¹Mayodan, NC | Service inquires for SR-556, SR-762, AR-556, Ruger American Centerfire, Ruger American Rimfire, SR22 Pistol & LCP w/ serial number prefix 3720 & greater
• ¹Earth City, MO | Precious Metals & Manufacturing Production

At this time there is no timeline as to when people will be specifically laid off or what amount of employees at specific locations.

¹Contact Customer Service. (n.d.). Retrieved January 08, 2018, from https://ruger.com/dataProcess/customerService/

²Cuddemi, J. (2018, January 05). Sturm, Ruger Laying Off About 50 Workers Around the Country. Retrieved January 08, 2018, from http://www.vnews.com/Sturm-Ruger-Laying-Off-50-Workers-Around-the-Country-14715873