Cutbacks continue at Rothmans

The Rothmans UK marketing department is continuing to shed staff with the departure last week of Raffles brand manager Jane Ainley and the imminent departure of general sales manager Barry Marshall.

Ainley is understood to have taken voluntary redundancy and Marshall will be leaving to join the Rothmans’ Russian operation. Marshall, who will not be replaced, is one of a number of UK staff who have been shifted into Rothmans’ international operation.

It is understood that in the past six months the department has been cut from 35 to 20 staff.

Earlier this year corporate affairs director Dan Oxbury left and has not been replaced.

Changes in the sales and marketing department have been taking place since early April and one source says that the salesforce has been slimmed by about a third to 100.

Rothmans initiated a programme of voluntary redundancies earlier this year, following the installation of a new management team in mid-December headed by UK managing director Trevor Smith.

At the end of December sales distribution director Charles Kirchner left for Hi-Tec, taking brand managers Janine Haw-kins and Simon Curry with him. But all three have since been made redundant (MW April 21).