Stanley Black & Decker to slash 300 jobs, close – Business News
Stanley Black & Decker is slashing round 300 jobs and shuttering a Connecticut manufacturing facility — wiping out roughly half of its workforce in its longtime hometown.
State Rep. Dave DeFronzo stated the toolmaker is chopping about half of its 600-person workforce in New Britain and shutting a tape-measure manufacturing facility which produces single-sided tape measures.
The company confirmed the transfer.
Stanley Black & Decker’s world headquarters in New Britain, Conn., the place the company has been based mostly since 1843. Courtesy Stanley Black and Decker
“As a result of a structural decline in demand for single-sided tape measures, we have decided to close our facility in New Britain that predominantly makes these products,” Debora Raymond, vice president of exterior communications for Stanley Black & Decker, informed The Post on Monday.
“These products are quickly becoming obsolete in the markets we serve.”
Raymond added that the company was now “focused on supporting impacted employees through this transition, including providing options for employment at other facilities, severance, and job placement support services for both salaried and hourly employees.”
Stanley Black & Decker reported 600 staff in New Britain in 2024. The closure would eradicate about half of these jobs. The company will keep its headquarters within the metropolis open.
It is unclear when the company plans to shutter the power.
“It’s a sad day for New Britain,” DeFronzo informed WFSB-TV.
“Stanley has a long history here, and slowly but surely its presence has been eroded. I think if you talk to most people in the city, they have family or a grandparent that worked at Stanley. They provided good jobs for a lot of people at quality wages.”
Stanley Black & Decker reported 600 staff in New Britain in 2024. The closure would eradicate roughly half of these jobs. Getty Images
Stanley Black & Decker has been based mostly in New Britain since 1843, when Frederick T. Stanley opened a small bolt and door {hardware} store that will grow into one of America’s best-known toolmakers.
Over more than 180 years, the company helped earn New Britain the nickname “Hardware City,” increasing from conventional hand instruments into a international manufacturing powerhouse whereas preserving its world headquarters rooted within the metropolis.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont stated the company’s determination to halt manufacturing of what he described as outdated merchandise can be painful for staff and their households, however expressed hope that these affected might discover new alternatives.
“Although Stanley has made the decision to discontinue operations for manufacturing outdated products, a change in workforce opportunities is difficult for employees, their families, and any community,” the Dem stated in a assertion.
“However, I am hopeful that these skilled workers will be repurposed with the help of Stanley Black & Decker, a company that will still proudly be headquartered here in Connecticut.”
The closure raises deeper questions in regards to the limits of commerce coverage as an financial treatment, in accordance to Dean Lyulkin, founder of The Dean’s List.
“If trade policy alone were enough to revive domestic manufacturing, an iconic American brand like Stanley Black & Decker would not be shutting down a facility with hundreds of jobs attached to it,” Lyulkin stated.
Over more than 180 years, the company helped earn New Britain the nickname “Hardware City.” JHVEPhoto – stock.adobe.com
“Protection can shift margins at the edge, but it cannot manufacture demand, beat automation or force capital to stay where returns no longer make sense.”
Lyulkin argued that each political events have been reluctant to confront the underlying financial forces at play.
“This is the uncomfortable truth both political parties tend to avoid: markets ultimately decide where capital flows,” he stated.
“If a product line is declining or can be produced more efficiently elsewhere, no headline about tariffs changes that math. We can debate trade policy all day, but competitive reality and return on investment win in the end.”
Stanley Black & Decker has been within the midst of a multiyear restructuring geared toward slashing prices and streamlining its international provide chain.
The company has cut roughly 7,000 jobs since late 2023 and accomplished a $2 billion cost-reduction program that included facility consolidations and workforce reductions.
