Glaxo Smith Kline to axe 4,000 employees: Report

Updated on: Monday, February 01, 2010

London: Britain's biggest drug company, Glaxo Smith Kline, is all set to axe up to 4,000 more jobs as part of its restructuring plan, media report says.

"Glaxo Smith Kline, is to axe up to 4,000 more jobs as part of its plans to restructure its workforce and focus increasingly on emerging markets," the Sunday Times said.

Glaxo, which has been headed for nearly two years by Chief Executive Andrew Witty, employs 99,000 staff across the world and is expected to reveal plans for select cutbacks alongside its annual results this Thursday.

Overall, the market is expecting Witty to reveal pre-tax profits of 8.7 billion pound, an 11.7 per cent increase on the previous year's total. Group sales are predicted to rise 16 per cent to 28.2 billion pound.

Although job losses at Glaxo will not be as severe as those announced last week by its rival Astra Zeneca, they will provide further depressing news for a sector that is fighting to contain costs as it reduces its reliance on big-selling blockbuster drugs, many of whose patents will soon expire.

Last week, Astra revealed it would cut 8,000 jobs.

Its Chief Executive, David Brennan, warned that the company was unlikely to see a rise in sales for five years.

The daily further said that Glaxo Smith Kline group has more than 30 products in the advanced stages and is increasingly turning to emerging markets to find growth.

This has meant that thousands of jobs have already been sacrificed in the West, although the company is adding staff elsewhere, the Sunday Times said.

For example, it recently cut 2,000 sales jobs in America but added 1,500 staff in China. It has previously said it aims to find annual savings of 1.7 billion pound, the report added.

The bulk of the cuts will be in America and Europe, and are part of the company's efforts to shift resources away from low-growth territories into parts of the world with greater scope to expand sales.

The job-cuts will be combined with a drive to make its research and development arm more cost-efficient, the report added.

Glaxo Smith Kline to axe 4,000 employees: Report

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