LONDON – British American Tobacco is reducing its 47,000-strong global workforce by about one-fifth as part of its sweeping plan to bring down costs and simplify operations.
By the end of 2026, the maker of Dunhill, Kent and Rothmans cigarettes will have slashed 5,500 jobs and outsourced a further 3,500, according to an internal notice that lays bare the scale of change taking place at the tobacco giant.
BAT has partnered with Accenture to outsource a number of functions, including service centres, which typically employ large proportions of companies’ overall workforces. Certain roles in the UK, Singapore, Costa Rica, Mexico, Poland, Romania and Malaysia have since moved to Accenture, said BAT in its latest notice. Meanwhile, some roles in Pakistan have been outsourced to Systems Ltd, a Pakistani technology and business firm, it added.
The numbers, seen by Bloomberg News, do not include BAT’s US business, which is operated through its subsidiary Reynolds American.
Most other countries BAT operates in are affected by this ongoing restructuring programme. It had pledged to make £600 million (S$1.03 billion) of annual cost savings by the end of 2028.
BAT is contending with falling demand for traditional cigarettes in many markets and a need to invest in and develop more sustainable nicotine alternatives, which have soared in popularity as people look for ways to quit smoking. Like its rival Philip Morris International, BAT wants to generate more than half of its revenue from “smoke-free” nicotine products such as Vuse vapes and Velo nicotine pouches.
Part of BAT’s restructuring has involved closing traditional cigarette factories. In January, the company said it would shut its eighth largest cigarette factory, located in South Africa, due to competition from illicit trade. Earlier in 2026, BAT forecast a decline in global cigarette industry volumes of 2 per cent in 2026.
Interim chief financial officer Javed Iqbal said in February that the use of artificial intelligence and data analytic tools would also affect staffing levels. Most of BAT’s planned cost savings, about £500 million, would be delivered by 2027, he said. BLOOMBERG
