Imperial Brands targets thousands of job cuts as it streamlines operations and pushes toward £320 million in annual cost savings by 2030. Photo credit: Imperial Brands
Imperial Brands is preparing to cut thousands of jobs across the US and Europe as part of a broader effort to simplify its operations and reduce costs, according to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the plans. The company expects to begin notifying affected employees at its US subsidiary ITG Brands from August 19, Bloomberg reported.
The planned reductions form part of Imperial’s wider 2030 transformation, which aims to create a simpler, more agile, and data-led organization while focusing investment on its core combustible markets and next-generation products (NGP).
Imperial has not publicly disclosed a global job-cut target. The company employed around 25,100 people across its tobacco and NGP and distribution businesses as of September 2025, including 12,000 in the UK and European Union and 4,700 in the Americas.
The company’s restructuring program follows its March 2025 strategy update, when Imperial outlined plans to generate around £320 million (US$430 million) in annual cost savings by 2030. It expects to incur around £600 million (US$807 million) in cash costs, with roughly £500 million (US$672 million) falling in fiscal 2027 and 2028. Imperial plans to reinvest most of the savings into growth initiatives.
Imperial has already begun implementing the strategy. In February, it announced a long-term partnership with Capgemini covering business and technology transformation, including data, artificial intelligence, and enterprise systems. The company also began consultations on transferring teams at its finance and procurement hub in Krakow and global supply chain center in Warsaw to Capgemini.
The upcoming cuts come as Imperial continues to reshape its manufacturing footprint. In March, the company confirmed that its Langenhagen cigarette and tobacco-stick factory in Germany will close in 2027 following a phased production shutdown. The site employs 640 people. Imperial cited declining production volumes, high manufacturing costs, and underutilized capacity as factors behind the decision.
The workforce reductions come despite continued growth in Imperial’s NGP business. In the six months ended March 31, NGP net revenue increased 7.5%, with double-digit growth in Europe and its Africa, Asia, Australasia, and Central and Eastern Europe (AAACE) region. Imperial reported market-share gains across all three NGP categories. Overall tobacco and NGP net revenue increased 1.8% to £3.73 billion (US$5.0 billion).
Oral nicotine remains a key growth area while Imperial continues to expand its heated tobacco and vape businesses. Its April trading update said Pulze 3.0 was gaining momentum, particularly in Italy and Greece, while blu continued to perform well in vape.
At the same time, combustible tobacco remains central to Imperial’s strategy. The company reported low-single-digit tobacco revenue growth in the first half, driven by pricing that more than offset a low-single-digit decline in combustible volumes. It expects tobacco and NGP net revenue to grow at a low-single-digit rate for the full year.