Imperial Brands announced it will shut down cigarette production at its Reemtsma plant in Langenhagen, Germany, by 2027 after failing to secure a buyer, a move affecting around 600 employees. The site, operating since 1971 and currently producing cigarettes, fine-cut tobacco, and tobacco sticks for heated products, is the last Reemtsma manufacturing location in Germany. Company executive Sami Naffakh said extensive efforts to find a viable solution for the plant’s future had proved unsuccessful, citing high production costs, underutilization, and declining volumes in the traditional tobacco segment.
Germany’s Food, Beverages and Restaurants Union criticized the process, claiming workers were kept in the dark about buyer discussions, while Imperial Brands said the union had been kept indirectly informed within confidentiality limits. The closure follows an October announcement that the site would either be sold or wound down, with production expected to be phased out over the next two years.