Novo Nordisk's Job Cuts Amid Restructuring in a Competitive Market

Novo Nordisk, the maker of the weight-loss drug Wegovy, announced on Wednesday a major restructuring plan that includes cutting 9,000 jobs. The aim is to save approximately 8 billion Danish crowns ($1.26 billion) annually, as the company faces increasing pressure from main U.S. competitor Eli Lilly.

The Danish pharmaceutical giant, in a statement, emphasized the need for a company-wide transformation to streamline its organizational processes, enhance decision-making speed, and better allocate resources towards emerging growth opportunities in diabetes and obesity treatments. The company had already put a global hiring freeze in place for non-critical roles back in August.

With approximately 78,400 employees worldwide, Novo Nordisk revealed that 5,000 of the job cuts would occur in Denmark. Newly appointed CEO Mike Doustdar highlighted the need for an increased performance-based culture and more effective resource deployment to maintain the company's leading position, particularly as its blockbuster drug Wegovy faces challenges in maintaining market share and growth, especially in the U.S.

(With inputs from agencies.)