ITG Brands told employees there would be staff reductions at the cigarette factory it acquired last year as part of the deal under which Reynolds American bought Lorillard, the Winston-Salem Journal said.

ITG, the US arm of Imperial Brands, has been manufacturing Newport cigarettes under contract for Reynolds since the takeover, and the US cigarette maker has reciprocated with the Kool, Salem and Winston brands that went to ITG in the deal. However contract production is coming to an end, possibly as early as June, the newspaper reported.
ITG has 1,700 employees, of which 1,100 are in production, the Journal said. The size of the reduction was not disclosed, the newspaper said. In addition to the former Lorillard plant in Greensboro, NC, cuts potentially could be made at ITG’s Reidsville, NC, factory and a leaf processing and purchasing facility in Danville, VA, according to the Journal.