On July 29, Philip Morris USA (PM USA) stopped production of cigarettes in its Cabarrus County, N.C., plant, completing a transition of manufacturing capacity to its Richmond, Va., facility which began more than two years ago. PM USA first announced in June 2007 that it would close the Cabarrus facility in order to address manufacturing overcapacity resulting from ongoing declines in U.S. cigarette volume and reduced contract manufacturing for its former affiliate, Philip Morris International.
In completing this transition, approximately 1,000 remaining employees are separating from the company. A small number will remain to decommission the plant. Employees are eligible for between six and 20 months of severance pay and benefits, depending upon length of service. Per union agreements, hourly employees who are laid off are also eligible to be recalled to fill cigarette manufacturing job openings with PM USA for up to three years from the date of layoff.
“We are deeply grateful to our Cabarrus employees for their contributions to PM USA and the local community over the past 25 years and their hard work that made this transition possible,” said Craig Johnson, president, Philip Morris USA. “Their performance has been nothing short of extraordinary. We wish them well in their future endeavors.”
Since the transition began in June 2007, PM USA has offered job opportunities and career resources to help minimize the impact of the plant closure on employees. PM USA extended the opportunity to transfer to Richmond to more than 1,000 employees and a total of 565 employees have transferred or are planning to transfer to jobs in Richmond. PM USA has also worked with state and private agencies to provide extensive outplacement services to further assist employees. These resources complement PM USA’s ongoing educational benefits and educational reimbursement program. Since June 2007, employees have prepared for the closure by taking advantage of more than 1,600 company-reimbursed training courses ranging from skilled trades to food service.
“We have planned carefully over the last two years to make this transition easier not only for our employees, but also for charitable organizations in this community,” said Janet Andersen, plant manager, PM USA Cabarrus. “We have been honored to work so closely with many community organizations over the years and we take pride in the fact that our involvement has made an impact.”
The company has also provided resources to assist local non-profit organizations that have relied on past financial support from the company and its employees. PM USA’s parent company Altria Group pre-paid 2009 and 2010 pledges and worked with the North Carolina Center for Non-profits to provide access to training and development programs for non-profit leaders.
PM USA and Altria Group have contributed more than $16 million to local civic and non-profit organizations since 2000. In addition, the company established the Philip Morris Employee Community Fund in 2000, a not-for-profit corporation funded, directed and managed by employees. From 2000-2009, the employee fund awarded 335 grants to local non-profit organizations totaling nearly $7 million.
The PM USA Cabarrus property is currently being marketed for sale. Visit www.pmusacabarrus.com for more information on the property.
