In just a few months, Sikorsky will be moving out of the Southern Tier. The company announced its plans to shut down its Military Completions Center in Horseheads Monday. As YNN's Katie Husband tells us, the news came as a shock to county and town officials.

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HORSEHEADS, N.Y. -- The announcement came early Monday morning, the official closing of the Sikorsky Military Completions Center set for December 31st.

"It certainly came as a shock to me that Sikorsky, corporate had made a decision to seize its operation," said Tom Santulli, Chemung County Executive.

A statement from Sikorsky's Communications Director Paul Jackson says, “Faced with difficult economic conditions, we must eliminate excess production capacity and increase operational efficiencies to remain competitive. We will work with the employees to provide as much transition support as we can during this difficult time.”

And when the plant closes, over 800 jobs will be lost.

"We're going to have a significant amount of people looking for jobs which is not a good time to start looking for a job when people will be laying off because of Christmas," said Teresa Dean, Big Flats Town Supervisor.

For Dean, the announcement hit home.

"I have a brother and a brother-in-law and other friends who work there, so I'm very concerned with what their future will bring for them," said Dean.

And the future economic impact for the town is a concern as well.

"If it's a vacant building, that's a concern because obviously, you don't have people working there and people aren't contributing to our economy," said Dean.

County officials are hoping a company will step forward and purchase the building after Sikorsky closes its doors this winter.