Novartis slashes thousands of jobs in UK, Switzerland

ZURICH: Pharmaceutical giant Novartis said yesterday it will cut more than 2,000 jobs in Switzerland by 2022, while some 400 jobs could go in Britain as part of a global restructuring.

The Swiss group said in a statement there would be a net-loss of 1,000 jobs at different manufacturing facilities across the wealthy Alpine nation, in Basel, Schweizerhalle, Stein and Locarno.

But it stressed that this included the recently announced buildup of a cell and gene therapy manufacturing unit in Stein that was expected to create up to 450 new jobs. Another 700 jobs would be meanwhile be cut over the same period due to a shift in business functions from Switzerland to other Novartis sites around the world, according to the company, which currently employs some 12,800 people in Switzerland.

In a separate release, the company said it planned to exit its manufacturing site in Grimsby in Britain by the end of 2020. “Three hundred and ninety-five Novartis employees at the Grimsby site are directly affected by the decision, and additional contactors employed through third parties may also be impacted,” the statement said. Novartis has already announced adjustments in its manufacturing units in Japan, the US, and other countries as part of a strategy announced in 2015 amid an increased emphasis on specialized and personalized medicines over high-volume products. “We are continuing our efforts to globally transform Novartis into a more efficient, agile organization that can sustainably innovate and deliver breakthrough medicines to patients,” company chief executive Vas Narasimhan said in a statement. —AFP