Smith and Wesson Corporate Relocation

Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. is moving its headquarters to Tennessee, where it expects to have less interference by gun control laws.

The company, which is based in Massachusetts and makes guns, has said it will move to Murfreesboro, Tenn., about 90 miles from the company’s current headquarters in Springfield, Mass., according to a report by Bloomberg News. The company’s board had approved the move at a meeting last week, the report said.

In fact, gun control measures in the Bay State have made it one of just three states with a “bad” or “very bad” rating from the National Rifle Association.

“These bills would prevent Smith & Wesson from manufacturing firearms that are legal in almost every state in America and that are safely used by tens of millions of law-abiding citizens every day exercising their Constitutional 2nd Amendment rights,” Smith & Wesson CEO Mark Smith said in a statement.

It will establish a new corporate campus in Jackson, Tennessee. Approximately 1,500 employees will move there from other locations within the company.

Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson originally found Smith & Wesson in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1852 to produce rifles. In 1854, the company moved to Norwich, Connecticut. In 1856, the business partners formed another joint venture to produce handguns.

The company plans to close one of its plants in New Hampshire, but he declined to say how many jobs will be lost, saying only that it would be less than half of the workforce in the United States.

There are over 750 jobs that will move from these facilities to the new headquarters in Maryville, Tennessee. Employees who cannot make the move will receive enhanced severance benefits and other services designed to help them find employment.