Novartis reveals global restructuring plans, to slash thousands of jobs for the revamp

Novartis, a global healthcare company, based in Basel, Switzerland, announced it would be undergoing a major restructuring, and in the process, thousands of jobs will be cut worldwide. The pharmaceutical company's reorganization has to be carried out as its combining its pharma and oncology business units.

As per Reuters, it was the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger that first published an article about Novartis' plans on Tuesday, April 12. The publication said that the details were shared by company sources that cannot be named.

While thousands of jobs worldwide will be affected by this move, over 100 roles may also vanish at Novartis' main site in Basel and Rotkreuz. Reuters reached out to the company for comments, and its spokesperson confirmed that the restructuring will "inevitably lead to roles being impacted." However, he said that it is still too early to determine the exact number of jobs that will disappear.

Currently, Novartis has 108,000 workers around the world, so this number will be reduced once the integration of its oncology and pharmaceutical units commences. The merger will create the company's innovative medicines (IM) business that will simplify its structure and save around $1 billion by 2024.

Novartis' spokesperson added that they are expecting the new structure to be completed and fully operational before this year ends. The simplified structure setup supports the firm's strategy as a focused medicines company, plus this was also planned to power its next phase of innovation, growth, and productivity.

"The simpler organizational model we are unveiling today is central to our growth strategy as it will make us more agile and competitive, enhance patient and customer orientation, unlock significant potential in our R&D pipeline and drive value-creation through operational efficiencies," Novartis' chief executive officer, Vas Narasimhan, said in a press release.

He added, "With our portfolio of in-market medicines and up to 20 major pipeline assets that could be approved by 2026, Novartis is in a strong position to deliver above-peer-median sales and margin growth in the mid and long-term."

Finally, the revamp also resulted in changes to the company's Executive Committee of Novartis (ECN). Five executives were appointed to lead the firm in their new roles.