P. M. BRIEFING : Colt Nears Sale of Arms Division

Colt Industries Inc., locked in a bitter strike with unionized workers at its firearms division for more than three years, announced today that it is near an agreement to sell the division, a deal that could put 950 replacement workers out of work in January.

Colt Industries did not reveal the name of the prospective buyer or financial details of the deal. But it appeared possible that the new owners might be the striking workers.

If the sale goes through, Colt’s two gun-manufacturing plants in Hartford and West Hartford would stop production on or about Jan. 16. Effective with the halt of production, all workers would be dismissed, Colt said.

The company said, however, that the new owner plans to resume production at the plants and that “many of the affected employees will be contacted by the prospective buyer during the next several weeks concerning the availability of jobs.”