Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., the parent company, announced that most of the 17 workers at the firm's Scottsdale Airpark location will be laid off by the end of the month as the gun maker begins moving out of executive offices at 14500 N. Northsight Blvd. in early February. The move to Springfield, where the gun maker has its primary facility, will be completed by the end of the quarter.

Roy Cuny, president, CEO and member of the board of directors, says in a press release that the move was designed to streamline operations and move the executive offices closer to the manufacturing facility in order to focus on its core firearm business. The company moved its headquarters to Arizona in 2001 after it was sold by British owner, Tomkins LLC, for $15 million to locally based Saf-T-Hammer. It was unclear what would happen to Smith & Wesson's local facility, which sits amid one of the hottest rental areas in the city.

The firm, which kept a low profile since moving to the so-called West's Most Western Town, did not return several phone calls seeking comment. The relocation, however, comes as a blow to the city, which in December lost the headquarters of the Dial Corp. following its acquisition by Henkel KGaA of Duesseldorf, Germany. Although that company currently has no plans to close its Scottsdale operation, it no longer serves as the firm's headquarters.