Daniel Defense Lays Off Large Percentage of Its Workforce

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Amid ongoing reports of deteriorating sales in the black rifle market, firearms manufacturer Daniel Defense laid off an undisclosed number of employees. According to conversations with those affected and social media posts, on Friday, Sept. 29 and Monday, Oct. 2., the firearms manufacturer eliminated approximately 100 full-time positions.

A former employee of Daniel Defense affected by the layoffs said, “This was very unexpected. All of us were handed a blanket packet that explained everything. The paperwork didn’t even have my name on it. All they said about my job was that my position was being eliminated. There was no severance package, we were just fired.”

The scope of the layoff is unknown, but firsthand sources including current and recently laid off employees speaking under the condition of anonymity said anywhere from a third to a half of the company’s workforce was affected.


Read more: http://www.recoilweb.com/daniel-def...ge-of-its-workforce-130055.html#ixzz4w1SLLFYW
 
That sucks. It might just be companies built up during the boom and are now down-sizing to a normal level.

I also wonder if higher-end ARs are being crowded out, since you can buy a nice one now for $600 from Ruger etc.
 
That's too bad. It's also too bad they don't sell to Mass residents. [crying][puke]
They didn't want my business, when I called them up last fall to buy an upper. Oh well.
 
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the industry enjoyed an absolute boom of sales under Obama. He sold more rifles than any other American. Nobody should have rightfully expected the boom to continue forever. At some point it would slow down and we reached that point.

I agree it truly sucks for all these employees. Hopefully they can find new employment and perhaps something even better.
 
the industry enjoyed an absolute boom of sales under Obama. He sold more rifles than any other American. Nobody should have rightfully expected the boom to continue forever. At some point it would slow down and we reached that point.

This^

You can get deals on AR's right now for as low as $400, and stripped lowers for under $50

What I can't figure out is why the MSM is still using the the number "300 million guns in private hands" when that same number was used when Obama took office ???

You'd think that number would have risen a bit after nearly a decade of record breaking sales.

I think the MSM is scared to admit the real number is likely closer to 500 million, or more than one for every person living in the US.
 
the industry enjoyed an absolute boom of sales under Obama. He sold more rifles than any other American. Nobody should have rightfully expected the boom to continue forever. At some point it would slow down and we reached that point.

I agree it truly sucks for all these employees. Hopefully they can find new employment and perhaps something even better.

I expect there were plenty of companies that didn't handle their cash well during the boom and are now strapped. They also probably didn't move into other markets like LEO/Military/Suppressors etc.
 
There are a lot of questions down here, and this affects a lot of people I know. Two good friends of mine were laid off. One's found another job, the other's looking. Both are pretty bitter. They were let go with no notice, no severance, no medical, nothing. Lot of speculation from both of them that Daniel Defense spent money where it shouldn't have - sponsoring a race car, giving to a church, the SHOT show. Nobody that knows the big picture is talking.
 
There are a lot of questions down here, and this affects a lot of people I know. Two good friends of mine were laid off. One's found another job, the other's looking. Both are pretty bitter. They were let go with no notice, no severance, no medical, nothing. Lot of speculation from both of them that Daniel Defense spent money where it shouldn't have - sponsoring a race car, giving to a church, the SHOT show. Nobody that knows the big picture is talking.

It's tough for the employees but judging from the deals I've been seeing on uppers and complete rifles the firearms industry is in a world of hurt. 0bama, world's greatest gun salesman, sucked forward many years of demand and the price to be paid for that will be a multi-year slump.
 
No question they spent money where they maybe shouldn't have. But maybe it would have played out to turn them from a higher-end parts co to the premiere AR manf. Who knows.

It sucks to get no notice, but people HAD to see they were manf'ing less and less stuff. At some point, they can't afford to pay you to sit around anymore. :(

This is only the first of many shrinkings within the firearms category.
 
No question they spent money where they maybe shouldn't have. But maybe it would have played out to turn them from a higher-end parts co to the premiere AR manf. Who knows.

It sucks to get no notice, but people HAD to see they were manf'ing less and less stuff. At some point, they can't afford to pay you to sit around anymore. :(

This is only the first of many shrinkings within the firearms category.

They weren't cutting down on manufacturing. They were running three shifts and building up inventory. The increased inventory in hindsight could/should have been a red flag (?).
 
Companies who do a wide spread layoff with no benefit package are typically in worse financial straights then they are reporting. Doing something like that typically will hit their market reputation pretty hard. Would you buy from them, who screwed their employees or a different company that didn't. In the PR world, this is a killer.
 
Seems like a pretty crappy way to manage the downsizing. Not defending them, but they were obviously ill-prepared for the boom/bust cycle. Instead of investing in automation and starting up some diversification projects, they blew money on expensive marketing when Oblabla was giving them effective marketing for free.

If their layoffs seem overly-aggressive, they may be fluffing up the books for a sale. In general, this market is ripe for some consolidation.

I'm just hoping that sometime soon PRS components come out of the price stratosphere. I already built a PRS worthy AR in 6.5 CM, but it's ~3/4 MOA and I'd like to build a ~3/8 MOA bolt gun.
 
IMHO, when you consider the rapid and widespread expansion of black rifle producers, any slow down in growth in a saturated market would see the contraction of the industry currently being experienced, and that's irrespective of the recent legislation. only the most innovative and highest quality along with the lowest cost manufacturers will survive.
 
What good is a new plant without workers to build guns?

They have a brand new facility here in Bryan County. They had approximately 300 employees, they cut approximately 100 of them, which leaves approximately 200. The cuts went across all levels of the company - sales, marketing, production, etc. They have a stockpile of firearms built up which they can send to distributors, they have an excellent reputation, (up to this point?). They're still in the firearms business.

They've had previous layoffs, never one to this extent, and never one coupled with this type of expansion. As I said earlier, anyone who truly understands the big picture isn't talking. The bits and pieces I know come from the local papers and more directly from my friends, two of whom were laid off and others who are still employed.

I've wanted a Daniel Defense firearm - planned on buying one through the "Friends and Family" program. I won't be doing that now. That's a personal decision.

I just bought a LaRue "ultimate upper kit" to build an AR for my wife for Christmas. Going to couple it with a cmttac ambi lower because she's left-handed. If that turns out well, I'll build one for myself instead of buying a Daniel Defense later on.
 
This seems to be the norm... lots of manufacturers grew out of the boom. Too bad, they can't keep going because it would be nice to see quality and quantity among manufacturers.

I think we'll start to see wide variances in choices once it all settles... either low end and cheap or high end and expensive, but the middle area will suffer after the current inventories and closing sales end.
 
Companies who do a wide spread layoff with no benefit package are typically in worse financial straights then they are reporting. Doing something like that typically will hit their market reputation pretty hard. Would you buy from them, who screwed their employees or a different company that didn't. In the PR world, this is a killer.

Concur. It's along the lines of running a gun "manufacturing" company that can't produce products, tries to "invent" stuff that's been invented and run by a guy that molests little girls.

Nevahbeendunbefoe!

Seems like a pretty crappy way to manage the downsizing. Not defending them, but they were obviously ill-prepared for the boom/bust cycle. Instead of investing in automation and starting up some diversification projects, they blew money on expensive marketing when Oblabla was giving them effective marketing for free.

If their layoffs seem overly-aggressive, they may be fluffing up the books for a sale. In general, this market is ripe for some consolidation.

I'm just hoping that sometime soon PRS components come out of the price stratosphere. I already built a PRS worthy AR in 6.5 CM, but it's ~3/4 MOA and I'd like to build a ~3/8 MOA bolt gun.

The more I hear on this thread, the more it looks like they are not good at business. Few people are. It's not a skill that comes naturally to most folks. And it's a hard teacher for sure. There is a reason that the #1 job for a sociopath is Corporate CEO. Most folks just get too emotionally involved and miss all their own red flags.
 
What I can't figure out is why the MSM is still using the the number "300 million guns in private hands" when that same number was used when Obama took office ???

You'd think that number would have risen a bit after nearly a decade of record breaking sales.

I think the MSM is scared to admit the real number is likely closer to 500 million, or more than one for every person living in the US.

I've been saying "more than 350 million" because I didn't have any better data. 500M would be more compelling, but I can't defend it.
 
No severance package? That is truly horrible.

One of my friends is highly technical, he was in his office when a security guard stopped in and asked him to come down the hall to the conference room. Since he'd already seen several people get axed, he knew what was coming, and grabbed his stuff. He had a conversation, signed paperwork, handed over keys and was escorted out.

My other friend is an armorer, he was working third shift and his entire shift was axed. Went to work and was fired.

No notice, no severance, no medical for either of them.

One of them is medically retired from the Army - as he says "I got blowed up"; he's got full VA benefits. The other has a wife and two children.

One's already employed, the other has a solid prospect.

Daniel Defense put on a job fair this past week; that's a good thing.
Lot of people hurting from this.
 
Daniel Defense put on a job fair this past week; that's a good thing.
I assume you mean a job fair for other firms to come in to meet layoffees.

I wonder if this layoff meets the criteria for an exemption from the notice requirement in the plant closing law. My guess is that DD is just taking a chance that nobody will be able to afford legal counsel to make it an issue.
 
For what it is worth, the Las Vegas shooter had several Daniel Defense rifles in the hotel room. This might be some sort of defensive move for DD as a result of that news breaking. My so so source: I was watching scandalous conspiracy theories on the event on Youtube when the video with his weapons choices came up on the playlist. It consisted of AR-15s, AR-10s, DD rifles, a Sig, and FN-FALs. Again, it was Youtube so it must be far more reliable than CNN or MSNBC.
 
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