By Ellen Kanzinger
Hunter Defense Technologies will close its Buena Vista plant by the end of the year, costing 74 full-time employees their jobs.
The Buena Vista plant, located off U.S. Route 60, mainly manufactures shelters, generators and other technologies used by the military and civilian operations. Operations will be moving to a new plant in Huntsville, Ala.
Buena Vista Director of Economic Development Brian Brown said HDT will phase out support staff in March and June. About 80 to 100 part- and full-time employees will lose their jobs as a result of the closing.
Brown said events such as the plant closing are “always a loss to the community.”
But Brown and other Buena Vista leaders are tentatively planning a job fair later in the year in order to ease the transition for affected workers and help them find new employment.
HDT also announced it would be consolidating the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania branches in Virginia to expand production and decrease costs.
In a statement Monday, the company said, “These strategic decisions were thoughtfully made, with the benefit to the warfighter and to the organization at the forefront.” HDT officials were not available Thursday for further comment.
HDT is headquartered in Ohio and operates nine locations in the U.S.