日本烟草公司关闭百年老厂

    日本烟草公司关闭百年老厂

    上周五（3月19日），日本烟草公司位于岩手县盛岗市的卷烟厂停止了经营，这家卷烟厂已经开办了一百多年。由于日本国内卷烟需求下降，日本烟草公司简化了生产。

    在周五（3月19日）输送了最后一批256万支卷烟——48万支Caster和209万支Cabin淡味卷烟——之后，这家工厂将在3月底关闭。该工厂从1905年开始经营。

    在2004财年的巅峰时期，这家工厂生产了131亿支卷烟，但是在2008财年，不景气的销售使产出几乎减少一半，达到66亿支卷烟。在最近几十年内，工厂安置的职工也减少了，从1972年的600名职工下降到了2009年4月的120人。

    日本烟草公司说，它将继续从当地农民手中购买烟叶。

    日本烟草公司因为还将在3月31日关闭鸟取县米子市的一家工厂，以及明年关闭神奈川县小田原的另一家工厂而受到指责，日本烟草将巩固六家工厂的生产，其中一家位于栃木县宇都宫市。

    JT's century-old Morioka cigarette plant has its last gasp

    Saturday, March 20, 2010

    The Japan Times

    MORIOKA, Iwate Pref. (Kyodo) Japan Tobacco Inc. halted operations Friday at its cigarette plant in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, which has been open for more than a century, as it streamlines production in response to falling domestic demand.

    Following Friday's last shipment of 2.56 million cigarettes — 480,000 Caster and 2.09 million Cabin Mild cigarettes — the plant will close at the end of the month. The plant began operating in 1905.

    The plant turned out 13.1 billion cigarettes in its peak year in fiscal 2004, but sluggish sales forced output to be nearly halved to 6.6 billion cigarettes in fiscal 2008. Staffing at the plant has also fallen in recent decades, from about 600 employees in 1972 to about 120 as of last April.

    JT will continue to purchase tobacco leaves from local farmers, the firm said.

    The company is slated to also shut down a plant in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, on March 31 and another in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, next year, consolidating production in six plants, including one in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture.