Spain to lose last Altadis cigarette factory in June

Imperial Tobacco’s Altadis plans to close its last cigarette factory in Spain, according to an Agence France Presse story.

The group’s cigarette sales in Spain have slumped by more than 45 percent in volume during the past five years due in part to regulatory pressures.

A spokesperson who did not want to be named told the press agency that a considerable rise in illegal sales, caused in large part by the economic crisis, had contributed to the slump.

And so had a drop in exports to key Middle-Eastern markets, such as those of Iraq and Syria.

Altadis was quoted as saying that it aimed to close its cigarette factory in the northern La Rioja region by June 30.

It said it would prioritize early retirement or voluntary redundancy for the 471 workers affected.

The La Rioja plant was the last cigarette factory belonging to Altadis in Spain, the spokesman said, before adding that the group had a cigar and cigarillos plant in the northern Cantabria region.