New Balance will close its Norridgewock factory

The shoe manufacturer New Balance will close its Norridgewock factory and move all operations to Skowhegan.

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 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, child care 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.

This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public .