OXFORD – The Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc., will permanently close its facility in Oxford, and 114 workers will be laid off starting on August 2, a required notice sent from the firm’s parent company, Reynolds American Inc., to the North Carolina Department of Commerce states.

The notice, required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, follows reporting from the AP and the Winston-Salem Journal last month noting that the company would consolidate production into a plant facility in Tobaccoville, North Carolina.

The notice filed with the Department of Commerce, which WRAL TechWire obtained upon request, states that some workers at the Oxford facility were offered an “opportunity to transfer to the Reynolds Operations Center in Tobaccoville, NC.”

Eight workers accepted the transfer offer, the notice states.

According to the letter, signed by Patricia Holliman, director, employment law partner, “[i]t is expected that 114 employees employed at this facility will be laid off.”

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“The WARN notice for the Oxford, NC facility is the next step in Reynolds transformation plans announced in March,” a spokesperson for R.J Reynolds Tobacco Company told WRAL TechWire.

“Some Reynolds employees at Oxford were at that time offered an opportunity to transfer sites,” the spokesperson said.  “Employees displaced through this process are receiving a comprehensive severance and benefits package, including outplacement support to help their transition,” the spokesperson told WRAL TechWire.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce publishes a report and updates it each time a company notice is received.  Through April 20, there have been a total of 1,007 North Carolina workers affected by 11 companies thus far in 2022.

The Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. plant in Oxford produces the Natural American Spirit brand tobacco products.  The company was acquired by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 2002.

The lay offs will begin as soon as August 2, 2022, according to the notice, and there will be three phases of layoffs.