The Danish company Novo Nordisk announced its plans to cut around 9,000 jobs on Wednesday. File Photo by Ida Marie Odgaard/EPA
Novo Nordisk announced plans to cut thousands of jobs on Wednesday as it aims to focus on its diabetes and obesity drugs.
The Wegovy maker said it plans to cut 9,000 of its 78,400 global jobs, including 5,000 in its native Denmark in an effort to “improve speed of decision making” and “reallocate resources towards the company’s growth opportunities in diabetes and obesity,” according to a press release.
“As the global leader in obesity and diabetes, Novo Nordisk delivers life-changing products for patients worldwide. But our markets are evolving, particularly in obesity, as it has become more competitive and consumer-driven,” said CEO Mike Doustdar. “Our company must evolve as well. This means instilling an increased performance-based culture, deploying our resources ever more effectively, and prioritising investment where it will have the most impact – behind our leading therapy areas.”
The job cuts are expected to incur a one-off cost of $1.26 billion as Novo Nordisk added it expects a lower operational profit growth of 4%-10% at constant exchange rates, a decrease from 10%-16% it projected in August when reporting second quarter results.
Doustdar took the helm of the company in August following the departure of his predecessor Lars Fuergaard Jorgenesen.
Novo Nordisk stock climbed 4.1% shortly following the news after having fallen in earlier trading.
