The shoe manufacturer New Balance will close it's Norridgewock factory and move all operations to its Skowhegan facility.
In a statement, the company said the transition will begin this fall, and that all employees at the Norridgewock location will be moved to the expanded Skowhegan space.
Norridgewock Town Manager Richard LaBelle said the news is discouraging, and that he is concerned about the impact on local businesses in the small town.
"A place like this, shifting jobs will have an impact on its schools, its local businesses, whether it's a coffee shop, a convenience store, lunch counter, childcare facility, all of those businesses will experience some sort of loss as a result of this kind of pivot," he said.
LaBelle said town officials are in touch with the company about future usage for the facility, once operations are moved later this fall.
"We're making any connection that we can to try to get ahead of this, find prospective investors, so if and when this building goes completely vacant there might be somebody that is interested in moving in and investing privately," he said.
New Balance has roughly 230 employees currently in Norridgewock, and 260 in Skowhegan.
