British American Tobacco slashes 9,000 jobs

British American Tobacco said it will cut or outsource 9,000 jobs as part of a restructuring programme aimed at saving £600 million a year by 2028.

The plan includes 5,500 direct job removals and 3,500 roles that will be outsourced. BAT said the changes will affect employees outside the United States and are expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Chief executive Tadeu Marroco said the company is focused on supporting affected colleagues through the transition while reshaping the business for the future.

The announcement adds to pressure already facing one of the world’s biggest tobacco companies as cigarette demand weakens and the industry shifts further toward smoke-free products.

Fit2Win restructuring

BAT said the job reductions are part of its Fit2Win transformation programme, a wider effort to simplify operations and improve cost discipline. The company is tying the restructuring to annual savings of £600 million by 2028.

The scale of the cuts makes the programme one of BAT’s most significant recent cost moves. By splitting the reduction between direct layoffs and outsourced roles, the company is trying to lower costs while reorganising work across the business.

Marroco’s comments suggest BAT wants to present the plan as both a cost-cutting step and a longer-term reset of the company’s structure. The company has not yet provided a country-by-country breakdown of where the jobs will be lost.

Market reaction and open questions

Market coverage reported that BAT shares fell about 1.3% in early London trading after the announcement.

The company also has not said which roles will be outsourced or which partners will take them on. That leaves open questions about how the changes will affect individual business units and local operations.

The first major report on the cuts was published by the Financial Times on June 29, 2026, and later coverage repeated the same core figures. BAT’s own press release on the same day corroborated the main details.

Further disclosure could clarify implementation costs, severance arrangements and the timetable for specific country and business-unit changes. For now, BAT has said the restructuring is intended to strengthen the company as it continues its pivot away from dependence on cigarettes.