SMITHS FALLS, ont. - In another blow to the community of Smiths Falls, employees have learned the Stanley Tools facility is shutting down.
In a written statement released Tuesday morning, the company announced it is discontinuing its consumer steel storage box product line.
That means the Smiths Falls manufacturing facility will close, leaving about 175 employees out of work.
"It's pretty sad for the community because I have a sister who works there and her boyfriend works there. And there's all the other people, they come to my place of business. It's going to be hard for the whole community," said Grant Burtch of Burtch's Chip Hut in Smiths Falls.
Management cited a declining U.S. dollar, global steel inflation and a shift in company strategy to blame.
The company intends to shut down production within the next three to six months.
The community of 10,000 located an hour south of Ottawa has been hit hard by layoffs over the past few years.
In 2007, Hershey's chocolate factory announced it would be shutting down its facility, affecting 500 employees.
About 18 months earlier, the Ontario government announced it would be closing the Rideau Regional Centre for the developmentally disabled, putting more than 800 people out of work by 2009.
