Ammunition maker Federal Cartridge laid off another 200 workers in Anoka on Thursday and Friday in response to lower consumer demand, officials confirmed Friday.
Separately, the ammunition maker's parent company, Vista Outdoor Inc., named as chief executive former Arctic Cat CEO Christopher Metz. Metz, who succeeds retired CEO Mark DeYoung and interim CEO Mike Callahan, takes the helm Monday.
Employees laid off this week include 190 hourly workers from the factory and about 10 salaried positions from the company's information technology, human resources and legal departments. Affected workers were split between Federal Cartridge's two Anoka facilities, the ammunition factory and the nearby warehouse/distribution center and corporate office.
Including previous staff reductions in March and June, Vista Outdoor now has 1,020 workers in Anoka, down from 1,430 in February.
"Vista Outdoor continues its efforts to drive cost-savings initiatives and improved efficiencies. We are managing our employee population to align with demand," said spokeswoman Amanda Covington.
Laid-off workers were informed about their status during group meetings with operations managers on Thursday and Friday mornings. All have been offered severance packages and outplacement assistance, Covington said.
The market has flattened since the election of President Donald Trump. Industry watchers say Trump, a gun rights advocate, makes gun owners less fearful of gun-control measures, one less factor to consider when buying a firearm.
"Our primary strategic focus this fiscal year is to deliver improved performance within our current brands and generate strong cash flows through cost management, efficiency improvements and operational excellence," said Vista Outdoor, based in Farmington, Utah, with manufacturing operations and facilities in 13 U.S. States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
"We are committed to our core goals of providing innovative and high-quality products for our customers and generating shareholder value."
Vista Outdoors stock price fell nearly 4 percent to close at $21.75 Friday. The stock had been trading around $38 a share as recently as January.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
