Novartis Confirms: There Will Be "Downsizing"
Novartis (NVS) has for the first time confirmed that "downsizing" will be part of its future drive for growth. BNET first reported Sept. 13 that CEO Joe Jimenez's most recent investor presentation appeared to indicate that he was preparing a new round of layoffs as part of a productivity drive at the company. He didn't actually say people would lose their jobs in the future, however. Now the company, in a statement to BNET late Friday, confirmed that will happen. (The statement didn't give numbers, either.)
Novartis has previously been cagey about layoffs, forcing observers to piece together the story after the fact. Jimenez's Sept. 13 slideshow, however, noted a reduction in salesforce numbers of 1,400 last year coupled with some factory closings or sales that counted for another 600 jobs. The same day he told a Swiss newspaper:
We have spent too much money on marketing and selling our drugs ... We can save even more, even if we grow. This business revolves around science, not around marketing.In an email to BNET, a Novartis spokesperson used the word "downsizing" for the first time:We have 83 factories and we only use about 50% to full capacity--that isn't good.
Novartis is committed to our core strategy of focused diversification in high-growth healthcare segments. We are leveraging our core competencies in scientific discovery and development to continue to drive growth, innovation and productivity across all our businesses. To ensure the long-term success of the organization in this dynamic environment, Novartis will continue to look for productivity improvements that may include consolidations and downsizing, and will also continue to invest in areas that will drive future growth.She also noted that "productivity" was not simply about letting staff go, however:
Increasing productivity at our manufacturing sites doesn't mean layoffs, for example, the sites we have sold to third parties will likely see increased growth in the next years.Related: