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Altria Group Inc. is planning to eliminate about 490 jobs from its U.S. workforce in the next two months as the company seeks to save about $300 million a year by the end of 2017.

About 200 to 250 of those job cuts will come from the company’s salaried workforce in the Richmond area, representatives for Altria confirmed on Thursday. The cuts will not affect hourly employees.

Altria, the parent company of top U.S. cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, reported having about 3,900 full-time equivalent employees in the Richmond area at the start of 2015.

The job reductions are part of what the company described as a “productivity initiative” aimed at maintaining its cost competitiveness and its leading position in the U.S. tobacco industry.

“Some of the productivity savings will be invested in important initiatives such as brand building, harm reduction and regulatory capabilities,” said Marty Barrington, Altria’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a conference call with industry analysts and media representatives.

“Continually challenging our cost structure and investing in the future remain important for us as we focus on delivering strong results for the long term,” he said.