Employees of Smartwool as well as the entire Steamboat Springs community are still reeling from the announcement last week that VF Corp. would be moving Smartwool’s headquarters to Denver within a year.

The news came only days after Molly Cuffe, Smartwool’s director of global communications, spoke at the “Stand for Our Land” rally in downtown Steamboat and talked about the important role outdoor companies like Smartwool play in the local economy, describing the impact of the outdoor recreation industry as an “economic powerhouse.”

We are saddened by VF Corp.’s decision to move 70 employees out of Steamboat Springs, which has always been heralded as vitally important to preserving the Smartwool brand. For years, company leaders have said Smartwool was committed to retaining its headquarters in the town where the company was founded, and so the announced move came as a surprise, especially in light of the fact that Smartwool’s lease with the city does not expire until 2022.

Read more at Steamboat Pilot & Today.