Pharmaceutical giant Novartis to cut some 2,200 Swiss jobs

Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-25 22:37:25|Editor: yan
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GENEVA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis said Tuesday it would cut some 2,200 jobs in Switzerland over the next four years to boost operational efficiency, but remained committed to operating in the Alpine country.

Nearly 1,500 jobs in production are affected and about 700 in services in a restructuring that is part of Novartis' manufacturing strategy launched in 2015 to reduce its product portfolio, Novartis said.

"Novartis confirms its strong commitment to Switzerland by maintaining 10 percent of its worldwide workforce in the country, creating new technology platforms and investing more than 3.0 billion Swiss francs (3.1 billion U.S. dollars) in research and development each year," the company said in a statement.

It currently employs 13,000 people across Switzerland. The company said it intends to "continue to adapt manufacturing network and service activities".

In total, positions will be cut from Novartis's production sites in Basel, Stein, Locarno and Schweizerhalle, chief executive Vas Narasimhan told reporters on Tuesday, the Swiss News Agency, SDA-ATS reported.

At the same time, Novartis said there is the potential of creating 450 new jobs in Stein as part of the announced construction of a cell and gene therapy production site.

In services, Novartis intends to relocate some of its "managerial and transactional capabilities" to its five global service centers in Dublin, Ireland; Hyderabad, India; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Mexico City, Mexico; and Prague, Czech Republic.

The company said its Basel campus will suffer most from the cuts.

"We are aware of the impact of today's announcement on potentially affected employees and their families," said Novartis head Vas Narasimhan.

He said the management has already invited employee representatives and managers in Switzerland for "dialogue and consultation".

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