MIRAMICHI, N.B. — The creation of a civil servant payroll centre in New Brunswick would provide employment for federal workers who face layoffs if the long-gun registry is abolished, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.

Harper said the establishment of the facility in Miramichi would more than make up for any job cuts at the Canadian Firearms Centre, which administers the registry and employs about 200 people in the city.

"Let me assure you, the jobs we're creating at this announcement today will absorb any job losses in the firearms centre many times over," Harper told a news conference.

About 20 protesters were outside Harper's announcement, fearing they could lose their jobs if the registry is abolished.

Denise McDougall, an employee at the firearms centre, questioned the wisdom behind scrapping the registry.

"It makes people responsible for their firearms. That's all it is," McDougall said. "It's no big deal to us. There's no charge to register firearms. There's no charge to renew your licence or to upgrade it, so we think it's a good thing."

Kellie McKay, president of the union that represents registry workers, said she hoped employees who may be laid off would be guaranteed any new jobs that would come with the establishment of the payroll centre.

"If we lose 40, well, we want a guarantee that 40 of these employees are going to have 40 of these new jobs," McKay said.

Harper said the new centre would provide 550 jobs in the region. But he said that would be fewer payroll jobs in total than there are presently across the country.

He said the system would be more automated and that a wave of retirements are expected over the next few years.

"We will employ less people going forward than we're currently doing," he said. "But we will also create a workforce here ... that we anticipate will be a lot more stable than we have in some other parts of the country."

It would cost $298 million over the next six years to consolidate the payroll system, but Harper said that would result in annual savings of $79 million beginning in 2016-17.

Harper's announcement comes weeks before Parliament is set to resume debate of a Conservative private member's bill that would kill the registry, if passed.

It also comes days after the Mountie in charge of the federal firearms program was replaced, triggering accusations of political interference with the RCMP. Both the government and the RCMP have denied any political motivation in bumping Chief Supt. Marty Cheliak from the job.