Up to 3,000 other jobs could go in the southern Dutch town of Bergen op Zoom as a result of the Philip Morris factory shutdown, local council officials said on Friday.

Tobacco company Philip Morris said earlier in the day it is closing its Dutch factory on October 1 with the loss of 1,230 jobs. Some 130 jobs will remain in marketing and sales.

The company has been a major employer in the southern town since 1980 and the news is ‘an enormous blow’, mayor Frank Petter told Radio 1. The town’s alderman for economic affairs, Ton Linssen, was so angry he left the press conference, the NRC reports.

Suppliers

‘Some 1,200 jobs are going at the factory but indirectly we are talking about 3,000 to 4,000 jobs if you look at suppliers and the like,’ a council spokesman is quoted as saying by the NRC.

Prime minister Mark Rutte said he and officials from the economic affairs and social affairs ministries would soon meet provincial officials to discuss how best to help the region.

The Dutch factory produces some 75 billion Marlboro, L&M and Chesterfield cigarettes a year. Most are destined for export.

Philip Morris said the closure was prompted by the difficult economy, a switch to cheaper products such as rolling tobacco and the illegal trade. Production is being transferred to Greece and Portugal among other locations, the Financieele Dagblad says.

Profit

In 2012, the last year for which figures are available, the factory booked sales of €511m and net profit of €145m, an increase of 21% on 2011, the Volkskrant reports.

British American Tobacco closed its Dutch plant in Zevenaar in 2006 with the loss of 570 jobs.

On Wednesday Philip Morris said it was closing its Australian plant and switching production to South Korea. The company said it had been unable to increase exports to make up for the fall in domestic demand. Australia introduced plain packaging for cigarettes in 2012.