British American Tobacco (BATS.L, BTI) announced on 29 June 2026 that it will cut approximately 5,500 jobs globally and outsource a further 3,500 roles to strategic partners by the end of the year, affecting a total of around 9,000 employees — roughly one-fifth of its non-US workforce [Source: Bloomberg]. The changes form part of the company's 'Fit2Win' AI-driven transformation programme and are expected to deliver approximately £600 million in annual cost savings by the end of 2028 [Source: British American Tobacco]. Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco said the group is building 'a future-ready organisation that is more agile, cost disciplined and technology enabled' [Source: British American Tobacco].

The restructuring spans BAT's global operations but explicitly excludes the United States, which is the company's largest market. Most of the cuts announced have already been confirmed with the employees affected. The outsourcing element involves transitions to several strategic partners: roles in Global Service Hubs in Costa Rica, Mexico, Poland, Romania and Malaysia, as well as Supply Network Operations in the UK and Singapore, are moving to Accenture (ACN) under a partnership entered in July 2025. A select group of roles in Pakistan have transitioned to Systems Ltd., and BAT has expanded its partnership with ITC Infotech to transfer relevant technology roles in Poland and Romania [Source: British American Tobacco].

BAT shares fell nearly 2% in pre-market trading following the announcement.

The £600 million in Fit2Win savings are in addition to the £2 billion of targeted savings between 2026 and 2030 that BAT announced at its Capital Markets Day in 2024 [Source: BAT Preliminary Results via Investegate]. BAT's 2025 preliminary results indicated that 2026 delivery would be at the lower end of guidance, with profit growth weighted towards the second half of the year and increasing benefit from Fit2Win cost savings. The broader backdrop includes a decline in combustibles revenue, which fell 6.4% to £20,685 million in 2024 from £22,108 million in 2023. BAT is pushing ahead with the AI-driven transformation programme to cut costs and bolster profits amid regulatory challenges and delayed product launches.

Sources: British American Tobacco, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Reuters, CNBC, BAT Preliminary Results via Investegate, BAT FY2025 Preliminary Results presentation via LSEG, BAT Form 6-K via SEC, MarketScreener