WINSTON-SALEM -- R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said Friday that it plans to reduce its manufacturing work force by an undisclosed number as part of a continuing effort to lower expenses.
The company said it was offering buyouts to employees at two plants in Forsyth County that have about 1,800 workers in all. Those who accept will get a severance package.
"The resulting job eliminations in our manufacturing department will only affect employees who tell us that they want to be considered," said Jan Smith, a senior director of communications for Reynolds.
Smith said that the company did not have a goal for the job reduction.
"We first need to see how many production associates express interest in leaving," Smith said. "The company's decisions on how many jobs are eliminated, and which jobs, will be driven by business needs to ensure the company has the staffing levels and skills sets it needs to continue operating effectively."
But with the unemployment rate at 11.1 percent in the Triad, few may be willing to leave. Analysts said that if not enough workers accept the severance package, Reynolds may be forced to conduct a formal job cut in 2010 - especially if sales continue to fall
Reynolds said in November that its cigarette-shipment volume fell 11 percent in the third quarter to 20.6 billion cigarettes. Reynolds said that the industry decline was 12.6 percent.
Smith said that Reynolds "has identified some opportunities for additional productivity improvements and cost-savings initiatives" in manufacturing.
"The company has some flexibility in what changes it implements and when, depending on how many employees express interest in leaving," Smith said.
The job reduction would be Reynolds' first since announcing it was cutting 570 white-collar jobs in September 2008. The company is scheduled to complete the last of those job cuts in early 2010.
Smith said the last time manufacturing workers had an opportunity to "leave with severance" was September 2003, when 800 manufacturing jobs were cut as part of eliminating about 1,600 jobs locally and 2,600 overall.
Although manufacturing workers were not the target of the September 2008 job reduction, the production work force has been reduced by about 100 since September 2008 through attrition, Smith said.
Officials did not say whether the severance package would be more elaborate than those typically provided by the company.
When Reynolds announced the September 2008 job cuts, it offered a severance package of at least 13 weeks of pay, benefits and outplacement assistance.
