Bulgartabac Concentrating on Sofia and Blagoevgrad

Source from:  tr.itsmyiq.com Feb 14, 2008 02/15/2008

Bulgartabac is ending its cigarette production contracts with factories in Plovdiv and Stara Zagora, so as to concentrate all of its production at its two remaining plants, one in Sofia and the other in Blagoevgrad, according to a Novinite report. But the two factories that are losing their contracts will retain their licenses to manufacture tobacco products; so that they can be sold to other cigarette producers. The nearly 600 workers in Plovdiv and Stara Zagora will receive compensation of one month's salary for each year they have worked for Bulgartabac, up to a maximum of 20 years. The chairperson of Bulgaria's cigarette monopoly, Korneliya Ninova, was quoted as saying that the restructuring plan had been devised following a decision by the governing coalition council's decision on Sunday to proceed with the privatization of Bulgartabac. Trade unions representing workers at Plovdiv and Stara Zagora had demanded the resignation of Bulgartabac's governing board and a privatization process under which each of the four factories retained their licenses and brands. However, Bulgartabac's management turned down the demands, some of which were said to be incompatible with market economy conditions. Bulgartabac's executive director, Hristo Lachev, was quoted as saying that the concentration of production was the most efficient way of providing for the development of the cigarette manufacturing industry in Bulgaria. Enditem