Almost 80 Liverpool jobs have been put at risk after a global cigarette maker announced a major restructure of its nicotine products brand.
Nerudia operates a vaping e-liquid manufacturing facility in Speke, but today, parent company Imperial Brands has announced a proposed restructuring of the business.
The move, which the FTSE 100-listed giant described as "regrettable", could mean the loss of 77 roles across the firm's R&D production facility on Physics Road, as BusinessLive reports.
The firm said the proposal came after "significant consideration", and will include redeploying staff internally and re-training them "wherever possible".
It added that it will ensure staff are treated "in a fair and responsible manner".
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A statement from Imperial Brands said: “We have today announced a proposed restructuring of our Nerudia business which could potentially result in the loss of 77 roles across our R&D and production facility in Liverpool.
“The proposal was put forward after significant consideration and supports our ongoing work to transform Imperial by simplifying our operations and implementing new ways of working to place the consumer at the centre of our business."
A total of 160 people are based at the Merseyside site - meaning almost half of them will be affected by today's announcement.
When the £11m site opened back in 2014, Nerudia said it would become Europe's biggest nicotine manufacturing site.
Nerudia develops various products including vapour, heated tobacco and oral nicotine delivery. Manufacturing at the Speke site includes producing vaping e-liquid. In 2017, it became part of Imperial Brands - a Bristol-based, FTSE 100-listed firm with over 30,000 employees worldwide. Imperial is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company.
The statement continued: “As part of the consultation process we will be discussing a range of employee support measures which will include, wherever possible, internal redeployment and re-training.
“The prospect of job losses is always regrettable and we are committed to ensuring that our people are treated in a fair and responsible manner.”
