Novartis' 500 Swiss job cuts announced earlier this month are just the tip
of a global iceberg. The company plans to cut or shuffle up to 4,000 jobs in
its pharma business, with many of the positions moving to a new operations
center in Hyderabad, India, a Swiss newspaper reports.
The news comes two weeks after CEO Joe Jimenez pronounced his
dissatisfaction with the company's operating margins, and days after two
back-to-back job-cutting announcements. And Novartis is in the midst of a
worldwide strategic review. "I am not satisfied with operating
margins," Jimenez said at an investor conference (as quoted by the NZZ
am Sonntag). "We intend to increase these margins over time, and we
begin now."
Soon after, the company announced its Swiss
layoffs and rehires.