Fontem to axe 55 e-cigarette jobs in Scotland

Fifty five jobs are expected to be axed as Imperial Tobacco’s non-tobacco product subsidiary, Fontem Ventures, implements its plan to close its electronic cigarette warehouse and office in Edinburgh, Scotland, according to a Herald Scotland story relayed by the TMA.

The closure is to be carried out from September 30 to December 30, basically during the company’s first quarter.

The Edinburgh operations are to be transferred to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Charlotte, North Carolina, the US.

Imperial said that the 55 employees facing the axe would be offered assistance to find new employment.

“We deeply regret that this strategic restructuring will result in redundancies among our 55 employees in Edinburgh [and] appreciate the commitment, achievements and contribution of all our employees” in the city, Bart Maas, general manager of Fontem, was quoted as saying.

Fontem Ventures, set up in 2013 to develop non-tobacco ventures for Imperial, used the Edinburgh site as a base to distribute electronic cigarettes.

The Herald reported that, in November 2013, Fontem acquired vapor technologies and patents from Dragonite International.

It acquired the blu e-cig brand in July 2015 and owns the e-cig brands Jai and Puritane.