Novartis announces a major restructuring of its development activities. Between 400 and 440 of the Group’s 10,400 jobs will disappear in Switzerland over the next two to three years, including 3,000 in development (unit). Up to 240 additional jobs are at risk in the USA. In its press release on Tuesday (April 09, 2024), Novartis insists that its research activities are not affected by these measures.
The operation should reduce the Group’s Swiss workforce to just under 13% since the former Sandoz generics and biosimilars subsidiary was spun off last autumn (2023), compared with the 10-11% average of recent years.
Having already concentrated its activities solely on original medicines, the Swiss multinational explains that, with this restructuring, it intends to optimize its operational structure by reallocating its resources, notably in regulatory and technical affairs, to strategic sites.
The restructuring is to be accompanied by a concentration of activities at sites where Novartis already has critical mass, such as Slovenia, Austria and India, as well as by a strengthening of innovation centers, particularly in Basel. The pharmaceutical giant plans to hire around forty people at its historic site.
Promising to treat every employee concerned fairly and transparently, the Group points to a track record of success in relocating employees within and outside the company.
The Novartis development organization employs over 12,500 people worldwide, including 3,000 in Switzerland. The hiring of new associates over the next two to three years should moderate the contraction of this workforce to between 1% and 2%. The total workforce still exceeded 76,000 full-time equivalents at the end of last year.
April 09, 2024. With content of our partner Pharmapro.ch (from Keystone-SDA).
