Sponsored by: Investment Center

Something new in your business?  Click here to submit your business press release

Chamber Corner | Main Street News | Job Hunt | Classifieds | Calendar | Illinois Lottery 

Philip Morris to stop production in Australia after plain-packaging laws

[April 02, 2014]  SYDNEY (Reuters) — American cigarette and tobacco company Philip Morris International Inc <PM.N> said it will cease cigarette production in Australia this year as a result of plain-packaging laws and the growth of illicit trade in the country.

About 180 jobs will be cut from its Australian center in Moorabbin, Victoria by the year's end, with production transferred to Korea, the company said in a statement.

Australian law requires standardized packaging on all tobacco products, forcing companies to replace logos and branding with graphic images of smoking-related diseases on a drab background.

(Reporting by Thuy Ong; editing by Stephen Coates)

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.