UST to Lay Off 60 in Longwood Office

Source from:  Orlando Business Journal 04/07/2009

UST Inc. and subsidiary U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. Brands Inc. announced that 60 employees will be laid off at a Longwood facility. The firm will begin layoffs on June 5 at the plant located at 1230 Douglas Ave., according to the state's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification,known as WARN. The company plans to eliminate 53 sales representatives, five division managers and one department secretary and department manager, according to the notice the company submitted to the state. David Sylvia, a spokesman for Altria Group Inc., parent company of UST Inc., said the reductions were due to a consolidation of UST Inc.'s regional Longwood sales office - serving Florida, Georgia and Alabama - with the sales operations of Philip Morris USA, an Altria-owned tobacco manufacturer and marketer. UST Inc. is a Stamford Conn.-based manufacturer and marketer of smokeless tobacco products. On Jan. 6, 2009, the company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Richmond, Va-based Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO). Enditem