British American Tobacco to cut around 5,500 jobs amid slump in sales and rise in vapes

British American Tobacco announced plans to cut 5,500 jobs and outsource 3,500 roles, affecting 9,000 employees globally, as part of an AI-driven transformation to save £600 million annually by 2028. The restructuring aims to address sluggish sales, declining traditional tobacco use, and challenges in new categories like vapes.

British American Tobacco to cut around 5,500 jobs amid slump in sales and rise in vapes British American Tobacco /topic/british-american-tobacco BAT /topic/bat announced plans to reduce its global workforce /topic/workforce by approximately 20% as part of an AI-driven transformation programme.- The restructuring involves cutting 5,500 jobs and outsourcing a further 3,500 roles, impacting a total of 9,000 employees, with the US market excluded from these changes. - This initiative aims to generate £600 million in annualised incremental savings /topic/savings by 2028, with £500 million targeted by 2027, to bolster profits and improve agility. - The move addresses the Lucky Strike and Dunhill maker's sluggish sales and profit growth, the decline in traditional tobacco, and challenges in its new categories like vapes and nicotine pouches. - CEO Tadeu Marroco stated the changes are intended to make the company more agile, cost-disciplined, and technology-enabled, while ensuring support for affected colleagues.