Protesting Job Cuts

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) employees protested outside the company’s Geneva headquarters on Tuesday against scheduled job cuts, reports Swissinfo.

Last month, the company announced a restructuring plan involving the elimination of 268 jobs in Geneva—about a quarter of its workforce in the city. Some positions may be relocated to East Asia and Eastern Europe, JTI said.

Eighty staff members gathered outside the glass headquarters building in Geneva’s international district to express their concern about a proposed resettlement package and what they described as lack of transparency about the cuts and plans.

JTI employs 45,000 people worldwide and has been based in Geneva since 2015.

The multinational will concentrate its resources in Warsaw, St. Petersburg and Manila. Worldwide cuts are expected to affect 3,720 employees, or 6 percent of the JTI workforce. The company says it headquarters will remain in Geneva.