 American Tobacco is shutting down in Reidsville, eliminating 1,100 jobs by midyear.

Still, North Carolina tops the nation in tobacco production, growing $ 1 billion worth a year. The state is already headquarters and home to tobacco giants: Reynolds in Winston-Salem and the Liggett Group in Durham.

No. 1 Philip Morris, based in New York, operates a 1,900-employee cigarette factory in Concord, outside of Charlotte.

Lorillard, the nation's fourth-largest tobacco company, employs 1,850 factory workers in Greensboro. Local economic developers said they'd welcome Lorillard's headquarters, despite tobacco's tarnished image.

The move, expected next year, would save the company money, Lorillard said.