New Era Cap Company will be merging its aging Buffalo, NY manufacturing operation with its Derby, NY facility, which also houses the company’s corporate headquarters. The company on Friday informed employees at both facilities about the plans for the move.

The company said the consolidation of operations was needed to “help maintain a competitive position in the marketplace”, stating in a release that the move was necessary due to “excess capacity and the physical condition” of the old Buffalo plant. The building was described as “an old, five-story building with outdated mechanical systems and a poor design that does not lend itself to modern manufacturing practices and cannot easily be upgraded”.

The move is not expected to affect the workers at the Derby facility and is not expected to have an affect on New Era’s Alabama facilities either. New Era said they would work “actively” with the union at the Buffalo facility to provide benefits, job retraining, and other essential services to workers there who are not provided an opportunity in Derby.