British American Tobacco cost-cutting hits 9,000 roles

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FE Team | Published: June 29, 2026 23:13:01

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British American Tobacco plans to cut about 20 per cent of its workforce as it pursues an AI-driven overhaul to lower costs and lift profits amid regulatory challenges and delayed launches, reports Reuters.
The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes said on Monday it would cut around 5,500 jobs and move roughly 3,500 roles to third-party firms, including Accenture. The restructuring would affect around 9,000 employees in total, but excludes the US, the company's biggest market.
BAT, whose main profit engine, traditional tobacco, is in terminal decline and is shifting to smoking alternatives, did not say where the jobs would be cut.
It said the programme was expected to deliver £600 million ($793 million) in additional annualised savings by 2028, with £500 million targeted by 2027.
Still, its shares were down 2 per cent at 1146 GMT, underperforming the FTSE 100, which was down 0.1 per cent.
BAT had flagged in February that its new productivity drive could lead to job cuts, but the scale was a surprise, analysts said.