Speaking to Swiss public broadcaster RTS on Thursday, Boncourt mayor Lionel Maître said the decision is “a shock, a disappointment, a feeling of desperation and a mess”.
The canton said it would work to ensure that staff received fair severance packages.
The Boncourt factory was founded by the Burrus family in 1814 and was taken over by Rothmans International in 1996 before merging with tobacco multinational BAT three years later. The site has produced ‘Parisienne’ cigarettes since 1887, which is the second best-selling brand in Switzerland.
In 2014, BAT’s closed down a research and development facility in Boncourt with the loss of around 15 jobs.
Switzerland is home to some of the leading tobacco product companies, including BAT, Japan Tobacco International and Philip Morris.
But the industry’s workforce has been in decline in the Alpine state as other companies have downsized staff in previous years.
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However, the number of Swiss smokers is gradually decreasing as anti-smoking measures gain momentum – Saturday is World No Tobacco Day – and the number of Swiss-made cigarettes sold on the domestic market continues to fall. Switzerland is something of a magnet for international tobacco companies, with three large firms – British American Tobacco Switzerland,…
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