WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- RJR Nabisco Inc. announced Thursday it will move the headquarters of its Planters-Life Savers division from New Jersey to North Carolina.
The move from Parsipanny, N.J., will bring between 250 and 300 jobs to Winston-Salem and should help restore the prestige deflated by the corporation's February announcement that it would move its international headquarters to Atlanta, spokesmen said.
'This is a very strong reaffirmation in Winston-Salem and North Carolina,' said Edward Horrigan, chairman and chief executive officer of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Horrigan attributed the RJR board's decision to move the headquarters to a corporate realignment. RJR announced last month it would align Planters-Life Savers with the tobacco division, which is headquartered in Winston-Salem. Planters-Life Savers will lease about one-third of RJR's former headquarters building in Winston-Salem, Horrigan said. The company donated the $40 million, 500,000 square-foot building to Wake Forest University when it announced its relocation to Atlanta.
Local and state officials on hand for the announcement indicated enthusiasm for the move, noting that the Planters-Life Savers would be the state's second largest company if it were independent. The division reported $1.2 billion in revenues and $1.75 million in profit last year.
Winston-Salem Mayor Wayne Corpening said the city would experience a net gain in jobs because of the changes. The RJR move to Atlanta will cost the city about 180 jobs.
'The 250 to 300 people moving here (with Planters) will exceed the number of people leaving Winston-Salem,' Corpening said. 'We're proud and we're happy that these decision makers have reaffirmed their faith in our commmunity.'
Some of the Planters positions will consist of transfers from New Jersey and others will be hired locally, Horrigan said. The company has not determined the proportions.
'This move will not affect manufacturing at all,' Horrigan said.
