BAT to Reduce Workforce by Nearly a Fifth — Update

By Adria Calatayud

British American Tobacco plans to shrink its workforce by nearly a fifth, as the cigarette maker cuts and outsources jobs in an effort to reduce costs and simplify its operations.

The company, which owns the Camel and Lucky Strike brands, said Monday that it plans to reduce about 5,500 jobs by the end of the year, on top of around 3,500 roles that it moved to outsourcing partners like Accenture. The company employs 47,000 people globally, according to its website.

BAT has been investing in expanding its portfolio of alternatives to cigarettes such as vapes and nicotine pouches as smokers increasingly switch to new categories, but tobacco products still generate the bulk of its sales and earnings.

In an update earlier this month, the company said global industry volumes in its traditional cigarette market would likely fall more than previously expected this year, while it lifted its guidance for revenue growth from smoking alternatives.

BAT launched a restructuring program last year to review processes and ways of working, aimed at supporting investment initiatives to drive sustainable profit growth and cash generation over the long run.

The plan is on track to deliver 600 million pounds ($792.1 million) in annual cost savings by 2028, it said.

The company brought in several outsourcing and technology partners to overhaul its operations as part of the program.

As a result, BAT's supply-network operations in the U.K. and Singapore, as well as certain roles across its global service hubs in Costa Rica, Mexico, Poland, Romania and Malaysia, were moved to Accenture, the cigarette maker said.

BAT also consolidated its factory network over the past two years. In January, the company said it would close its Heidelberg plant in South Africa by the end of the year, the only factory it had in the country, shortly after it decided to close its Mozambican operations.

The changes don't affect the U.S., which is excluded from the scope of the plan, BAT said.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 29, 2026 09:17 ET (13:17 GMT)