Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk announced plans to cut around 9,000 jobs, which come to around 11.5% of the global workforce. “Novo Nordisk today announced a company-wide transformation to simplify its organization, improve the speed of decision-making, and reallocate resources towards the company’s growth opportunities in diabetes and obesity,” the company, which produces the Wegovy weight loss medication, said in a statement.
“As part of the transformation, Novo Nordisk intends to reduce the global workforce by approximately 9,000 of the 78,400 positions in the company with around 5,000 reductions expected in Denmark.” The company said the headcount reduction would incur a one-off cost of 8 billion Danish kroner ($1.26 billion).
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This overhaul is the first major move by CEO and President Maziar Mike Doustdar, who took on the position last month, following the ousting of Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen.
Novo Nordisk is the maker of weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, and a key player in the weight loss drug market. However, of late, it has been facing competition from rivals like Eli Lilly. ]
“Our markets are evolving, particularly in obesity, as it has become more competitive and consumer-driven. Our company must evolve as well,” Doustdar said. “This means instilling an increased performance-based culture, deploying our resources ever more effectively, and prioritizing investment where it will have the most impact – behind our leading therapy areas,” he added.
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During an investor call in July confirming his appointment, Doustdar had said he was assuming the role with a sense of “urgency” and three key priorities. Those included defending Novo’s leadership in diabetes and obesity treatment, fostering a high-performance culture and realigning the company’s cost base and driving efficiencies.
A number of major companies across different industries have seen job cuts this year. Intel is preparing to make significant layoffs as it intends to reduce its workforce by 15% and end the year with about 75,000 workers worldwide, as part of a broader plan led by new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, aimed at resetting the company’s direction and streamlining operations. Oil giant Conoco Phillips revealed plans to cut 25% of its workforce. The cuts would potentially affect 2,600 to 3,250 workers. Google also cut 35% of its workforce, slashing more than a third of its managers responsible for small teams and signaling a significant shift in the company’s organizational structure.