AstraZeneca to make further job cuts
pharmafile | July 26, 2007 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
Thousands of employees in sales, marketing, R&D and back office staff will lose their jobs at AstraZeneca as the pharma company aims to streamline its operations and save around $900 million.
The cuts add to the redundancies earlier this year, when 3,000 job cuts were announced, mainly in the supply chain operations.
The company says it has undertaken a strategic review of a number of departments, and has found ways to produce major streamlining and cost savings.
In European sales and marketing, a total of 800 employees will be made redundant, while a further 1,800 jobs will go in back office roles such as business support.
Finally, a further 700 jobs will be cut in R&D, with the organisation being re-modelled around a disease area strategy, with the regulatory department also facing a shake-up.
The restructuring will cost the company millions over the next two years, but it says it expects the exercise to have paid for itself in full by 2009, with savings from then onwards.
AstraZeneca says it will continue to look for further ways to improve its efficiency in the long term. All the planned job losses are subject to consultations with works councils and trade unions, which will take several months to conduct.