Essentra exporting UK production jobs to Hungary

About 200 people are set to lose their jobs following an announcement on Wednesday by Essentra Plc that it planned to close its factory at Jarrow, UK, by the end of this year, according to a story in the Shields Gazette relayed by the TMA.

The current Jarrow production is to be shifted to Hungary.

Essentra was said to have begun a 45-day consultation period to discuss the site closure with those affected, though there was no suggestion that the discussions would reduce the number of job losses.

Essentra Europe managing director Hugh Ross was quoted as saying that cigarette volumes in Western Europe had declined by almost 30 percent during the past 10 years.

Consumer demand was shifting from ‘mature Western countries to the more dynamic, developing markets in Eastern Europe’.

Cigarette companies that bought filters from Essentra had responded to this trend by relocating production to Central and Eastern Europe.

Only a small percentage of the current filter production at the Jarrow facility was destined for the UK market.