British American Tobacco is to decommission its plant in Takoradi on Tuesday as it rounds off manufacturing in Ghana.

Some 180 workers have been rendered redundant as a result of the closure of the BAT factory.

The cigarette manufacturer announced earlier in the year that it will cease to manufacture in Ghana. It will rather limit manufacturing to its subsidiaries in other West African countries and only sell its products in Ghana.

The Director of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at BAT Ghana, Tony Okwoju told Joy News that the process to decommission the plant had started and all redundancy packages had been paid the affected workers.

The plant shut will also leave hundreds of seasonal casual and contract staff who are normally taken on at the height of the tobacco growing and buying season as well some 589 tobacco farmers in the Brong Ahafo, Ashanti and Eastern regions jobless.

Okwoju insists the company’s move to shut the plant is part of an on-going drive to minimize cost of production within the BAT group in contrast to speculations that heavy excise duties slapped on locally manufactured cigarettes and increased cigarette smuggling influenced the move.