More than 2,000 jobs up in smoke at BAT

Tobacco firms are having a tough time as more people give up smoking cigarettes. While many companies hoped to diversify by moving into e-cigarette devices, health concerns continue to hang over them. BAT, which owns the Lucky Strike and Dunhill brands, is going through such a transition.

BAT is axing 2,300 roles, including a fifth of senior managers. It says this is part of a restructuring internally as it ‘’eliminates duplication and consolidates business units’’. Since taking charge in April, Chief Executive Jack Bowles has promised to slim down BAT.

The UK-based tobacco firm employed more than 56,000 people at the end of last year, across the globe. In this region, it has operations in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

There has been growing concern over the safety of vaping (the use of e-cigarettes) after health officials reported 450 cases of vaping-related lung illness and six deaths linked to its use in the United States. Officials have also warned that millions of children had been drawn into nicotine addiction.