Machinery built by British American Tobacco to make 50 billion cigarettes a year will fall silent at 11am, after the work was transferred overseas to cut ...

THE LAST cigarette made in Southampton is set to roll off the production line today, extinguishing almost 100 years of history.Machinery built by British American Tobacco to make 50 billion cigarettes a year will fall silent at 11am, after the work was transferred overseas to cut costs.

The decision by the maker of Lucky Strike, Kent, Dunhill and Pall Mall cigarettes cost 550 Southampton jobs. Former employees will be on site to see the last official production at the Regents Park Road plant, which bosses described as an "emotional occasion". BAT moved there in 1926 but has been making cigarettes in the city since 1913.

The company, which has just reported profits of ?2.1 billion for the first nine months of the year, will still be a major Southampton employer with 600 staff, many working in its group research & development centre. Around 30 people will continue to be employed in manufacturing for the coming six months to manage the transfer of machines and the decommissioning of facilities.
BAT claims as many as 75 per cent of its redundant employees have been resettled already, either through retirement, retraining, securing new jobs - including internal transfers - or self-employment.

Head of UK and Ireland operations Peter Stewart said: "It will be an emotional occasion for many people and we want to mark it properly."After 80 years on this site we have made the difficult decision that the Southampton factory is no longer economically viable. We have therefore transferred production to other factories in the Far East which are closer to our destination markets - as well as more competitive factories elsewhere in Europe.

"I am proud of the way the workforce has dealt with the run up to closure and I am delighted that so many of them have already settled on new futures - with help from our successful outplacement support. "We will remain a major employer in the area, but the nature of the jobs has changed. Our group research and development facility is continuing to expand and will create a number of new high quality employment opportunities." BAT is the world's second largest tobacco group, doing business in 180 markets with more than 300 brands.