Dominican Republic: Desperately seeking Tabaqueros

With the sudden spike in demand since the early months of the pandemic (see ADC English Edition #1), Dominican factories are under intense pressure, including in terms of manpower. Anything goes to attract workers and meet production targets.

Daniela Cruz Gil, our correspondent in Santiago de los Caballeros (Dominican Republic)

"We are looking for tabaqueros (cigar makers)." Such signs can be seen outside most factories in the province of Santiago, particularly in Tamboril, an area known for its large numbers of farms, factories and cigar industry workers.

The search for employees has taken an even more aggressive turn over the last few weeks, with advertising buses fitted with loudspeakers driving around offering work. "They do that from 4 PM onwards," explains Gregory Leonel López, Packaging Manager at MJ Cigars, a small factory with 38 employees that produces 200,000 cigars per month in Tamboril's Calle Real. "By that time, factory employees are back home, so they can hear the messages." The announcements don't mention the salary, but they invite tabaqueros to contact companies that are looking for worker, that is to say most of them. MJ Cigars is no exception in suffering from the shortage of labor since the end of 2020; employees are instructed to make it known that the company is hiring. "With or without experience," adds Lopez. "We are looking for employees to work in packaging, stemming, and sorting tobacco. If you have a little experience, you're really in demand at the moment!" The young man also points out that it's harder for smaller factories, because they can't compete with their larger competitors in terms of wages, working hours and benefits.

"If you've got a bit of experience, you're really in demand right now!".

While this is not the first boom for the Dominican tobacco industry, the difficulties this time are exacerbated by the pandemic.

Régis Broersma, President of General Cigar (Macanudo, Don Tomás, STG Group), explains that strong demand has led his group to hire over 700 tabaqueros for all its factories on the continent - in Honduras, Nicaragua and, of course, the Dominican Republic. This recruitment drive involves both experienced and novice workers, who are often recruited in the neighborhoods surrounding the factories before being trained. According to Broersma, none of its employees have succumbed to the siren song of the competition, as the company can offer competitive salaries and has put in place benefit programs for its employees and local communities, resulting in good employee retention and limiting turnover.

Davidoff's Vice President of Production, Hamlet Espinal, tells a similar story. The Swiss group has been steadily hiring new employees to meet the increase in demand since last year. To meet this demand for skilled labor, the Tabadom school - which enjoys a high reputation throughout the country - is an excellent training ground, complementing the training organized by the National Tobacco Institute (Intabaco). The manager also asserts that the few resignations of Davidoff employees in recent months are not due to competition, but rather to emigration.

The oldest Dominican factory, La Aurora, also suffers from a labor shortage. "The people we hire with no experience receive training at Intabaco," admits marketing and sales manager Iturbides Zaldívar. "Intabaco has trained two groups of 20 tabaqueros for us so far, and more training sessions are planned in the coming months."

The situation is different, however, at Tabacalera de Garcia, the world's largest factory, which rolls cigars VegaFina. Operations Manager Regine Wolfgramm explains that the number of employees - currently 5,700 - continues to grow steadily in line with demand. "The recruitment process includes a training program that lasts from three to nine months, depending on the region." The only factory located in La Romana (in the south of the country), Tabacalera de Garcia claims not to have lost a single employee to its competitors.

Despite the signs - "Se buscan tabaqueros" (we are looking for cigar makers) - that can be seen outside their factories, Quesada Cigars and La Flor Dominicana preferred not to answer our questions, as did De los Reyes Cigars and Arturo Fuente.

140 hours of training

Intobacco technical director Luis Tejeda says the institute has trained 300 people since August 2020. These new tobacconists were immediately snapped up by Tabadom Holding Inc (Davidoff), Tabacalera La Alianza, General Cigar, La Flor Dominicana and La Aurora, AMBAM Cigars and Vega del Rey.

The course, entitled "Lessons in Cigar Making", lasts 140 hours. "That's how long it takes to learn how to make a top-quality cigar," according to Luis Tejeda, who adds that these training courses will continue to support the tobacco industry, and that Intobacco is in constant communication with Procigar, the federation of the country's largest cigar manufacturers, to keep abreast of the industry's needs.

Other difficulties

But the pandemic also revealed other problems. General Cigar was able to cope with rising delivery costs, container shortages and a shortage of wrapper sheets, thanks to its good relationships with suppliers and by negotiating longer transport times. "Our Covid-19 protocol is very strict, which generates additional costs and forces us to closely monitor the supply chain to reduce delays," explains Régis Broersma. Davidoff, meanwhile, is concerned about the effect of the pandemic on tourism - an important segment for the brand. "We estimate that it will take until 2024 for air traffic to return to pre-pandemic levels", says Hamlet Espinal. For La Aurora, production is further complicated by the rising cost of raw materials, including raw tobacco.

In any case, far from being seen as bad news, the shortage of tabaqueros reminds everyone that it takes people to make the great Dominican cigars that are so popular around the world. As Gregory Leonel López says, "when there's a lot of demand and companies are looking for workers, it represents progress for the country and for us!"

Photo (© Manuel Feliz): "We're looking for tabaqueros", reads a sign outside La Flor Dominicana, like most of the country's factories.

This article is taken from L'Amateur de Cigare English Edition No. 4.