British American Tobacco PLC (NYSE: BTI) shares experienced a slight decline in pre-market trading following the company's announcement of plans to eliminate 5,500 positions, aiming to achieve cost savings of £600 million (approximately $792.6 million) by 2028.

The global tobacco company, which markets cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and other nicotine products, stated on Monday that as part of its Fit2Win restructuring initiative, it will cut 5,500 jobs by the end of this year and transfer an additional 3,500 positions to strategic partners. Shares of British American Tobacco were down nearly 2% ahead of the market open.

Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco commented, "We are building a future-fit organization, one that is more agile, cost-disciplined, and makes the most of technology. These changes affect many of our colleagues, and we are focused on supporting them through this transition with care and respect, while positioning the business for future success."

Earlier this year, the company launched an AI-driven productivity program designed to enhance efficiency and streamline workloads, which it stated would impact the overall size of the organization. The majority of the job reductions announced have already been confirmed with the affected employees.