The pharmaceutical company Novartis has announced today the presentation of an Employment Regulation File to reduce its workforce in Spain between 220 and 240 workers. The Swiss group, which is now beginning the consultation period with the unions, alleges organizational causes, derived from its restructuring process: the firm wants to focus on the development of innovative products and, among other measures, a few months ago announced the separation of Sandoz , its generic business into an independent company.
The job cut in Spain is part of a global workforce adjustment, which began in June, which includes the dismissal of 8,000 workers around the world, 7.4% of its global workforce, with the greatest impact in Switzerland, where it has its central offices, with 1,400 layoffs. The group, which has 108,000 employees worldwide, justifies the cut by the need to reduce its expenses by at least 1,000 million dollars by 2024.
In Spain, company sources explained that the cut will focus on administration personnel, and will not affect the factories. Although the company has not detailed its geographical distribution, the impact is expected to focus on the group’s headquarters in Barcelona, ??and to a lesser extent in Madrid, where it has a large office focused on negotiations with regulators.
Novartis explained in a statement that its evolution “from a health conglomerate with high operating expenses that limited the ability to invest in essential activities such as R&D and licensing, to an innovative drug company” must translate into “new ways of working and the organization of the business.
Thus, the company has integrated the Pharmacy and Oncology business units, and will focus on five therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, immunology, neurosciences, solid tumors and hematology. “The resulting new structure, more agile and simple, entails, however, the elimination of certain positions throughout the organization,” the group said in a statement.
