With an avalanche of opioid-related lawsuits piling onto Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin has laid off 350 employees. The cuts include the company’s remaining sales force and are in addition to the 380 layoffs made earlier this year.
Purdue says the company is looking to “transform and diversify beyond the historic focus of pain medication,” while also taking steps to mitigate and combat opioid addiction throughout the country.
With states, hospitals and other jurisdictions bringing lawsuits against Purdue for its role in the opioid epidemic, the company had begun to engage in talks with several attorneys general in the hopes of reaching a mass settlement. But several states are nonetheless hoping to take the company to court. So far, a total of 24 states and Puerto Rico have sued Purdue.
The company still has about 550 employees.
Read the full Reuters report.