Novartis to cut up to 8,000 positions

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has announced a restructuring plan that will result in up to 8,000 layoffs internationally, including 1,400 in Switzerland. The cuts would equate to 7.4% of its workforce.

Novartis currently has approximately 108,000 employees.

The Basel, Switzerland–based company aims to save approximately $1 billion in operating expenses by 2024.

In April, Novartis hinted that such a change was coming with the description of a “new organizational structure” that would “accelerate growth, strengthen pipeline and increase productivity.”

The restructuring could hit the company’s Basel operations the hardest, according to the German language paper Tages-Anzeiger.

The restructuring initiative also will integrate the company’s pharmaceuticals and oncology business divisions into an Innovative Medicines (IM) business.

Furthermore, the company intends to decouple its U.S. operations from international commercial organizations to bolster competitiveness.

Novartis is also reportedly mulling the sale or spin-off of its generic business unit Sandoz.

Late last year, Novartis sold a stake in Roche Holding AG for $20.7 billion.

Novartis currently has relatively few megablockbuster drugs. In 2021, plaque psoriasis therapy Cosentyx (secukinumab) brought in $4.7 billion, while the multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya (fingolimod) generated $3.5 billion.