Press Release

Imperial Tobacco cuts 260 jobs

19 June 2008

Unite, the UK's biggest trade union, has today (Thursday 19th June) reacted forcibly to Imperial Tobacco's announcement of plans to cut 260 jobs from operations in Nottingham and Bristol. The announcement follows Imperial Tobacco's acquisition in January of Altadis, the Spanish tobacco manufacturer.

Export production of cigarettes at Imperial Tobacco in the Nottingham factory is to be ended in late 2009, with the loss of 175 out of 700 jobs. At Bristol where classic and castella cigars are made, the factory is to be closed by September 2009 and 81 manufacturing jobs will be lost.

A further 29 jobs will go in the company's supply chain, whilst 25 new jobs are to be located at the companies Bristol headquarters.

Imperial's plans form part of a wider restructuring programme which will see 2,440 jobs worldwide cut from the present 40,000 jobs in the enlarged imperial group.

Iain MacLean, Unite national officer said: "Imperial Tobacco is an outstandingly successful business thanks largely to the skills and commitment of its highly productive workforce. The decision to cut 260 well paid UK manufacturing jobs has got nothing to do with the workforce's record on productivity, efficiency and cooperation but more to do with the competitive 'internal market' that drives Imperial Tobacco's economic thinking.

"The acquisition of Altadis has created excess capacity within the expanded group but the projected savings of Euro 400 million annually look like a drop in the ocean in relation to the company's total costs, and compared to the misery and despair they will cause can hardly be justified.

"It is early days, but we will be fighting for every job and there will be absolutely no acceptance of any compulsory redundancies."

Imperial Tobacco is the producer of Lambert & Butler, Davidoff and JPS cigarettes and through its acquisition of Altadis, becomes the world's largest producer of cigars.