British American Tobacco on 29 July 2005 has raised the prospect of further job losses across its European operations in its quest for further savings.

Paul Adams, chief executive, said: "We have made no secret of the fact that we have excessive capacity and that we have particularly excessive capacity in western Europe, which has higher costs than other regions." The group announced the planned closure of its UK and Irish cigarette factories this month, a move expected to save £ 40 million annually.