The tobacco company Imperial Brands wants to close its Reemtsma factory in Langenhagen after an unsuccessful search for a buyer. The company announced that production at the site near Hanover should end by 2027. This currently affects around 600 employees locally.

Despite intensive and constructive negotiations with a prospective buyer, no agreement was ultimately reached that was viable for the future of the location, the statement said. Against this background, Imperial Brands has now decided to gradually close production in Langenhagen until 2027.

Looking for a buyer since October

The company had previously announced the decision at a staff meeting in Langenhagen. “We have intensively examined all realistic options over the past few months to ensure the continued existence of the location,” said Sami Naffakh, the manager responsible for the supply chain at Imperial Brands, according to the statement. “The fact that these discussions have unfortunately been unsuccessful is very disappointing for all of us.”

The Food, Pleasure and Restaurants union (NGG) sharply criticizes the approach. The NGG was never included in discussions, criticized Finn Petersen, chairman of the NGG northern regional district. “To this day we don’t even know who the prospective buyers were.” The employees were left in the dark for months while they were repeatedly given hope.

The Reemtsma parent company had already stated in October that it was considering closing the location. It was said at the time that it should either be sold or closed. The company justified the decision with high production costs and insufficient utilization. Langenhagen is particularly hard hit by this. The background is declining production volumes in the classic tobacco segment.

Last location in Germany

The NGG union had announced resistance to the plans at the time. As the last Reemtsma factory in Germany, the location is particularly important, it was said. According to NGG information at the time, Reemtsma was planning to relocate production abroad.

The Langenhagen plant was opened in 1971. In addition to classic factory cigarettes and fine-cut tobacco, so-called tobacco sticks for tobacco heaters are currently produced there.