BAT hires 100 people for financial services centre

British American Tobacco (BAT), one of the top three players on the Romanian tobacco market, has hired 100 people for its financial services centre British American Shared Services Europe (BASS Europe) it opened in Bucharest. The producer chose to place this regional centre in Bucharest after examining 19 locations in Europe, with the company planning to hire another 150 staff by 2010. For a start, BASS Europe will serve British American Tobacco entities, but their number could reach 36 by 2010. BASS Europe is the leading financial services centre for commercial entities of the British American Tobacco group in Europe, and provides services such as payments, treasury-related services, suppliers and customers database management, accounting and reports. BAT posted turnover worth 824 million euros in 2007, and reached an over 40% market share, according to company data.