By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
- Manufacturing shift: U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company will relocate key operations from Nashville to a new facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
- Efficiency push: Altria says that consolidating production will modernize manufacturing and reduce fixed costs.
- Long transition: Nashville operations will phase out gradually, with closure expected in early 2028.
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company is shutting down its longtime Nashville manufacturing operation as its parent company, Altria, pushes to modernize production and consolidate smokeless tobacco operations in Kentucky.
USSTC announced plans Thursday to transition manufacturing operations from its Nashville facility to a new production site to be built on the company’s existing campus in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
The company said production in Nashville will wind down gradually, with operations expected to conclude fully in early 2028.
“Modernizing our manufacturing capabilities is essential to position USSTC for long-term success in an evolving market,” said USSTC President and CEO Michael Brace. “By streamlining operations and concentrating production at a purpose-built facility, we can improve efficiency, enhance resilience and better support the future needs of our business.”
Brace acknowledged the impact the move will have on employees and on the Nashville community. “While this is the appropriate move for our future, we understand the impact this decision has on our Nashville colleagues, their families and the community, and we are committed to supporting our employees through this transition,” he said.
The Nashville operation primarily serves as a finishing and packaging facility for major moist smokeless tobacco brands, including Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky. USSTC said that consolidating processing, production and finishing activities in Hopkinsville will allow the company to eliminate inefficiencies caused by splitting manufacturing across multiple sites.
The company also highlighted the operational advantages of replacing Nashville’s roughly 800,000-square-foot legacy plant with a new 270,000-square-foot facility in Hopkinsville. USSTC said the move is expected to yield operational savings and enhance manufacturing resilience.
The company plans to sell its more than 30-acre Nashville campus, which is near downtown. Employees affected by the closure will be encouraged to apply for positions in Hopkinsville and at Altria’s headquarters in Richmond, Virginia.
USSTC said that workers who do not relocate will be offered severance packages that may include outplacement assistance and transition support. While the manufacturing footprint is changing, Brace emphasized the company’s ongoing ties to tobacco growers in Tennessee and Kentucky.
“While our operation in Nashville will close in 2028, we remain committed to producing our leading smokeless tobacco brands using 100 percent American tobacco grown primarily in Tennessee and Kentucky,” Brace said. “Our connection to both states runs deep, and we value our growers and partners who help carry on our company’s storied two century-old legacy.”
USSTC traces its roots to George Weyman’s tobacco shop in Pittsburgh in 1822, more than 200 years ago, and became a wholly owned Altria subsidiary in 2009.
The company said Hopkinsville has also played a major role in its operations for more than a century and currently employs approximately 200 full-time workers, along with seasonal staff.
