After 40 years of operations, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is closing its cigarette manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico. A Company spokeswoman confirmed the news and admitted that 60 employees will be affected when the plant closes in the end of August.

The reason the plant is closing that it will prove too expensive to make upgrades required by new federal regulations. It was also pointed out that increase in taxes will lead to a considerable decline in the manufacturing volumes at the plant.

The Company’s plant in North Carolina will start additional production as a result of the closure of this plant.

The plant produces cigarettes for the Puerto Rico market apart from private-label cigarettes for the U. S. market. It is located in the southeastern town of Yabucoa.

Reynolds makes the popular Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes along with Grizzly smokeless tobacco. It is also investing in two facilities in Memphis and Clarksville, Tennessee.

(Top News, 29/05/2010)