Cig-maker Altria Starts Cutting Jobs

A few weeks ago, we reminded readers that in tough economic times, many economic advisers say that the best stocks to own are from companies that make things you eat, drink, clean with or smoke.

Well, you can strike one off that list.

Altria Group, parent company of Richmond's Philip Morris, the nation's biggest cigarette-maker, confirmed today that it has begun cutting jobs, although it declined to say how many.

The news was broken by the Richmond Times-Dispatch today. You can read the story here.

In results reported last month, Altria said shipments of Philip Morris cigarettes in the United States dropped 4.8 percent from a year ago.

Altria and other tobacco companies have been seeking to expand beyond the United States, because of declining smoking rates here, and beyond cigarettes, to diversify, moving into smokeless tobacco or, as we say in West Virginia, "rub" and "chew."

-- Frank Ahrens

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