British American Tobacco to Cut 9,000 Jobs Globally Amid Declining Cigarette Demand

Cigarette Giant Axes Management to Fund Fast-Growing Vape, Nicotine Alternatives

It’s very hard to read about 9,000 people losing their jobs, but it’s an indication of how much the move away from smoking is.” British American Tobacco, the maker of Dunhill and Lucky Strike, is slashing a huge chunk of its global workforce because traditional cigarettes are losing their grip on the market.

People's habits are changing quickly. People are becoming more health-conscious, and governments are making it harder to smoke, so regular cigarettes are losing ground. BAT is in the throes of a major corporate shake-up, trying to peel away old management layers so it can scramble to fund alternatives like vapes and nicotine pouches.

The company hasn't said which offices or countries will be affected the most, but with them operating all over the world, the fallout is going to be widespread. They are basically trying to free up some cash to reinvent themselves. They know traditional smoking is on the decline, and if they don't move fast to smokeless products, they risk being left in the dust completely. It’s a hard lesson about what happens when a huge, century-old industry must change nearly overnight just to survive.