Vice President of Investor Relations Elizabeth Sharp confirmed for us that the company laid off 180 temporary employees earlier this week.
Sharp told 22News all of those employees had worked at their Springfield headquarters.
As for the reason behind the layoffs, she said they had to “adjust their production levels” to meet business requirements. That would seem to indicate they are making and selling fewer firearms.
Sharp sent 22News a statement that reads, in part, “While this difficult decision unfortunately impacts our temporary personnel, it allows us to avoid employee layoffs.”
Smith and Wesson has more than 1,700 full-time employees according to their annual report.