Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk to cut 9,000 jobs in restructuring
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Novo, which currently has 78,400 positions globally, said about 5,000 of the job cuts will be in its native Denmark. It makes the weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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COPENHAGEN – Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk will cut 9,000 jobs, or about 11.5 per cent of its workforce, in a restructuring to save 8 billion Danish crowns (S$1.6 billion) annually, it said on Sept 10 as it battles rising pressure from US rival Eli Lilly.
“Novo Nordisk today announced a company-wide transformation to simplify its organisation, improve the speed of decision-making and reallocate resources towards the company’s growth opportunities in diabetes and obesity,” it said in a statement.
The company, which is also known for its Wegovy weight-loss drug, already said in August that it had implemented a global hiring freeze covering job roles that were not critical for its business.
Novo, which currently has 78,400 positions globally, said about 5,000 of the job cuts will be in its native Denmark.
“Our markets are evolving, particularly in obesity, as it has become more competitive and consumer-driven. Our company must evolve as well,” newly appointed chief executive officer Mike Doustdar said in the statement.
“This means instilling an increased performance-based culture, deploying our resources ever more effectively and prioritising investment where it will have the most impact – behind our leading therapy areas,” he added.
As part of the restructuring, Novo will report one-off restructuring costs of 9 billion Danish crowns in the third quarter, including impairment charges, but also expects one billion crowns of savings in the fourth quarter, it said.
Novo said its operating profit growth in 2025 is now expected at between 4 per cent and 10 per cent, down from between 10 per cent and 16 per cent seen in August, changing solely due to the restructuring costs.
Novo, which became Europe’s most valuable listed company worth US$650 billion (S$833.9 billion) in 2024 on booming sales of weight-loss drug Wegovy, is facing a pivotal moment as the medicine loses market share and sees sales growth slow, especially in the United States.
It has warned of far slower growth in 2025, in part due to compounders who have been allowed to make copycat medicines based on the same ingredients as Wegovy due to shortages.
Investors in July wiped US$70 billion off the drugmaker’s market value after Novo issued a profit warning and named company veteran Doustdar as its new CEO.
Its shares have fallen nearly 46 per cent since the start of 2025, lowering its market value to about US$181 billion as at Sept 9. REUTERS
