Japan Tobacco to Cut Workers and Shut Four Plants, NHK Reports

Source from:  Bloomberg 10/30/2013

Japan Tobacco Inc. (2914)'s parent company plans to cut 1,600 workers, or about 20 percent of its workforce, and close four of its nine plants in the country, NHK reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Ryohei Sugata, a spokesman for Japan Tobacco, said the company hasn't decided on production or job cuts, in a telephone interview. He declined to provide additional details.

Japan Tobacco, seller of the Mevius brand, faces a decline in demand in its home market amid a shrinking population. The ratio of smokers in Japan fell 3.8 percentage points to 21.1 percent over the last three years, according to company's website.

Overseas revenue accounted for about 48 percent of Japan Tobacco's total sales in the last fiscal year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Enditem