2023-09-27 16:20:45
Boncourt (JU) definitively said goodbye to cigarette production on Wednesday afternoon. After more than two centuries of activity, British American Tobacco (BAT) has decided to close the Jura site and relocate part of its production to an Eastern country.
The closure of the factory took place on the sly, away from microphones and cameras. BAT management refused RTS access to its premises and employees to close the last box and stop the machines.
“It’s a sad time to learn that cigarettes which were manufactured in Boncourt will now be made at the other end of Europe,” comments Mayor Nicolas Maitre, Wednesday on the 12:45 p.m. of RTS.
Founded in 1814 by the Burrus family, the company has long been a pillar of Jura industry, with more than 400 employees at its peak. For the commune of Boncourt, it represented almost 90% of tax revenues from legal entities, and for the canton of Jura, almost half.
Its emblematic brand, the “Parisienne”, greatly contributed to its reputation, before the company was sold to Rothmans in 1996, then to BAT a few years later. When the closure of the Boncourt site was announced at the end of last year, BAT still employed 220 people.
>> Also listen to the subject in La Matinale: Live from Boncourt – The end of the British American Tobacco factory / La Matinale / 2 min. / yesterday at 07:32
The future of premises in suspense
The question of production premises currently remains confidential, although Nicolas Maitre specifies: “From what I know, a serious company is considering taking over the site, but it has not yet finalized its business plan.”
Production therefore stopped on Wednesday afternoon, but all is not lost. BAT will maintain a logistics center in Boncourt, which will save around fifteen jobs. Employees mobilized in vain last fall to try to influence the decision of BAT management. Management explains today that it has no new information to share.
Maintaining around fifteen jobs
The end of the week will be devoted to cleaning, with an aperitif planned for Thursday in the canteen. There should then be around forty people remaining in Boncourt until the spring. The BAT group has decided to retain around fifteen employees to manage its storage warehouse and shipping department.
The municipality and the canton will continue to receive some significant tax revenue, but for how long, only the BAT group knows. This is how a page of more than two centuries in the economic and social history of the canton of Jura ends.
TV and radio subject: Daniel Bachmann and Gaël Klein
Adaptation web: Valentin Jordil
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