Reynolds Lorillard; Greensboro loses another corporate headquarters, and most likely a bunch of jobs

"Reynolds American and Lorillard said today they are going forward with one of the largest corporate deals in the Triad ever, with Reynolds paying $27.4 billion to buy its rival.

...the role of Imperial Tobacco Group PLC is surprisingly larger than expected...

...blu eCigs, the top-selling electronic cigarette in the United States... will go to Imperial, along with Reynolds’ cigarette brands Kool, Salem and Winston, and Lorillard’s Maverick brand, along with other unnamed assets.

Imperial also would gain Lorillard’s Greensboro manufacturing plant and research and development operations and take over Lorillard’s workforce of 2,900.

Lots of legacy, highly paid, unionized workers in Greensboro.

...Susan Cameron, Reynolds’ chief executive and president, would stay in her positions, while Murray Kessler, her counterpart at Lorillard, would join the Reynolds board of directors.

No more Lorillard in Greensboro.

http://www.news-record.com/business/local_business/article_52e24f41-cfca-5446-9d44-8e3772f10b04.html
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[Imperial's] Nottingham factory employs about 540 people and will produce 17 billion cigarettes in 2014, although it has the capacity to produce 36 billion.

The Nottngham factory, and the group's French factory in Nantes are scheduled to close in 2016, with production moved to Eastern Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Tobacco
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From 2008;

"Britain's Imperial Tobacco said on Thursday that it would cut about 2,440 jobs, including 1,060 positions in France, as it restructures after the group's takeover of French-Spanish rival Altadis.

Imperial Tobacco bought Altadis earlier this year in a deal worth 12.8 billion euros (18.8 billion dollars)...

..."The enlarged group employs around 40,000 people worldwide. The restructuring projects will potentially reduce this number by around 2,440" or six percent.

Imperial said that the majority of the cuts would fall in France, with about 1,060 job losses. The group would also axe about 830 positions in Spain, 260 in Britain, 250 in Germany and 100 in Russia.

The group's facilities in Belgium, Italy, Ukraine and Slovakia would also be affected by 140 losses.

Imperial said it would create 200 jobs in Poland.

Increase profits by eliminating higher paid workers 

by moving production to lower paid workers in other countries.

"The proposed restructurings, combined with other integration initiatives, will enable the group to generate the previously announced annual operating efficiencies of approximately 300 million euros (464 million dollars) by the end of the financial year ending 30 September 2010," Imperial said.

http://www.investorvillage.com/mbthread.asp?mb=4154&tid=5015816&showall=1
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Greensboro and Guilford County need to prepare for some big layoffs.

Is Lorillard's GPAC contribution still good?

Executive offices most likely gone.

Cigarette machines get moved elsewhere?

Imperial could move the plant to wherever far enough away, 
to cull most of the unionized workforce.

The plant is in Greensboro City Limits, 
with one of the highest property tax rates in the state.

We may very well take this one on the chin.