The hits keep coming. This time, Freedom Group fired Advanced Armament Corporation’s plant manager, Lynsey Thompson, yesterday. A source told me that the move signals Freedom Group, LLC’s intention to fold the AAC operation into the existing Remington factory in Ilion, New York. Remington Defense is a subsidiary of Freedom Group that oversees the operation of AAC. “The rumor that we are moving the operation to New York is one hundred percent untrue,” says E. Scott Blackwell, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Freedom Group, LLC, when asked about the rumored move. “We have zero intention of moving AAC to New York; We’re hiring 5-7 new people and we just purchased a new [coordinate measuring machine] that we’re putting in there.”
Thompson’s firing marks the loss of the third of the three top positions in the Remington Defense subsidiary. Prior to her termination Kevin Britingham was fired from his position at the head of AAC as Remington Defense’s leader, Jason Schaubel, resigned. When asked about the reason for Thompson’s dismissal, Blackwell defered to company policy that prevented him from discussing personel matters decisions.
“We have moved some companies to New York in the past, we’ve learned lessons from that and AAC is not moving to Ilion, New York,” Blackwell told GearScout today, “AAC is doing just fine where it is. We’ve got a great workforce and there’s no reason to pick it up and move it to a facility where they’re producing firearms.
Blackwell will visit AAC’s Lawrenceville,GA, facility Monday along with other Freedom Group executives, including FGI CEO Robert Nardelli for meetings with AAC employees.
“We’re invested in the place, there’s good people down there and their focused on growing the business its a great brand great products great history and we intend to grow it,” said Blackwell.
