Novartis plans to cut up to 680 jobs in its drug development unit, adding more layoffs on top of a restructuring program that is already underway.
As reported by Reuters, Novartis will eliminate 440 jobs in Switzerland and 240 in the U.S. over the next two to three years, to enable the company to access local talent in places such as Britain.
The layoffs are separate from the major reorg unveiled in April 2022. The Swiss giant's new "simplified structure and operational set-up" was designed to integrate the pharmaceuticals and oncology business units, creating two separate commercial organizations with a stronger geographic focus — Innovative Medicines U.S. and Innovative Medicines International. The plan included a move to four core therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology.
It was later revealed that the 2022 reorg plan would likely lead to up to 8,000 job cuts.
Last October, the drugmaker successfully spun off Sandoz, its generics and biosimilars business, to create an independent company. The strategic move allowed Novartis to focus entirely on "pure play, innovative medicines" per its 2022 reorg plan.