Novartis moving thousands of jobs out of Switzerland
- HRM Asia Newsroom
Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis has announced plans to cut about 1,500 manufacturing jobs in Switzerland by 2022.
It is looking to leverage cheaper labour in countries such as Malaysia instead.
According to reports, Novartis is planning to streamline its global manufacturing and service operations.
If the plan pushes through, the pharmaceutical giant will also cut up to 700 business service positions in Switzerland, on top of the 1,500 manufacturing jobs that it is eliminating.
These jobs will be then moved to the Czech Republic, India, Ireland, Malaysia and Mexico.
The closure of a plant in England will also see the loss of another 500 jobs.
The changes are necessary to help the company shift focus toward personalized medicines and boost its bottom line, according to Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan, who took on the role in February this year.
As such, the job cuts will be slightly mitigated by the creation of 450 jobs in Switzerland, in the areas of cell and gene therapy manufacturing.
