Central News Agency (London, June 29, CNA, Reuters) British American Tobacco Group announced today that as part of its internal artificial intelligence (AI) transformation plan to reduce costs, improve profitability, and address regulatory challenges and delays in new product launches, the group plans to cut approximately 20% of its workforce. Reuters reported that British American Tobacco (BAT), an international tobacco giant headquartered in London, UK, stated it will eliminate 5,500 positions and transfer another 3,500 positions to third-party companies, including Accenture, affecting a total of 9,000 positions. However, this restructuring plan does not include its U.S. operations, which is BAT's largest market. The cost-saving plan aims to save 500 million pounds annually by 2027 and achieve an annual saving of 600 million pounds (approximately NT$25.28 billion) by 2028. British American Tobacco, which owns brands such as Lucky Strike and Dunhill, has experienced sluggish revenue and profit growth in recent years, failing to meet targets and even barely meeting its own objectives, disappointing some investors. BAT's stock price fell by as much as 1.3% in early trading today. (Translator: Kao Chao-fen / Editor: Liu Shu-chin) 1150629 Stand with facts, your every contribution supports the power of press freedom Download the CNA "First-Hand News" APP for real-time updates No part of this website's text, images, or videos may be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or used without authorization.