The Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche announced on Wednesday that it will lay off 4,800 employees over two years, mostly in the U.S., in order to save 2.4 billion Swiss francs (2.4 billion dollars) by 2012.
This represents šix percent of the total 82,000 employees in the company and will primarily affect jobs in sales, marketing, and production, according to a statement from the Basel-based company. An additional 1,500 jobs will be relocated to other locations within the company or to other countries, šmeaning that the announced reorganization will encompass a total of 6,300 jobs. Roche recorded a 7 percent year-on-year decline in revenue in the third quarter to 11.5 billion francs."These measures are necessary to ensure the sustainable success of the company," said CEO Severin Schwan. "We will make every effort to find socially responsible solutions for the employees who will be affected by the reorganization," he said. In the period leading up to 2012, restructuring costs will amount to 2.7 billion francs, the company announced. (H)
