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Novartis to cut or transfer up to 4,000 pharma jobs: paper
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[February 03, 2014]
ZURICH (Reuters) — Swiss drugs group
Novartis <NOVN.VX> intends to cut or transfer up to 4,000 jobs,
newspaper NZZ am Sonntag reported on Sunday, citing an internal
email.
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 The plan affecting up to 6 percent of its pharmaceuticals workforce
comes on top of a program to reduce the number of production sites
and is part of a larger drive to cut costs, the newspaper said.
Global drugmakers are under increasing pressure from investors to
step up restructuring as patents on best-selling drugs expire and
governments try to keep a lid on health costs.
Company spokesman Eric Althoff did not confirm the job numbers but
issued a statement saying that Novartis intends to prioritize and
reallocate resources primarily in pharmaceutical operations to focus
on planned product launches and other growth areas.
The measures "reflect the need to respond to a dynamically changing
healthcare environment", it said, adding that Novartis expects group
headcount to remain largely flat in 2014.
"We expect that an equal number of jobs will be created as are
reduced," the statement said.
A significant number of jobs are expected to be moved to India, with
the company saying that it plans to move existing operations in
Hyderabad to a business services center as part of its consolidation
strategy.
"The new center is expected to open in late 2015 or early 2016 and
will bring together Novartis operations that are currently spread
across three sites in Hyderabad as well as provide for future
growth," the statement said.
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Novartis, which will face copycat competition for blood pressure
pill Diovan once Ranbaxy Laboratories <RANB.NS> overcomes regulatory
delays for its generic version, posted lower than expected core
earnings per share last week.
The company is also conducting a review of its over-the-counter,
animal health and vaccines businesses, which lack the global scale
of its pharmaceuticals operations.
(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; editing
by David Goodman)
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