Roche Group swings the savings axe

The pharmaceutical company Roche is launching a global campaign to cut hundreds of jobs. Switzerland is also affected.

Basel-based pharmaceutical company Roche recently presented subdued business results.

As muula.ch also reported, sales fell by around 7 percent, while profits plummeted by almost 10 percent.

345 jobs affected

This constellation is also the reason why the group announced a major internal cost-cutting exercise this Thursday, according to research by muula.ch. Accordingly, 345 jobs will be cut in the Product Development division alone.

This corresponds to around 6 percent of the workforce in this area, according to an information event for those affected.

Of the 5,800 jobs worldwide that develop pharmaceutical products or provide IT support for product development, around 1,800 are in Switzerland, where around 100 jobs are to fall victim to this cost-cutting exercise.

Empty offices everywhere

Some offices may be relocated to more favorable locations, explained those responsible. Whether it will be Spain, Portugal or Eastern Europe, however, is still unclear. It could also be in the newly inaugurated tower in Pune, India, which muula.ch also recently reported upon.

In Switzerland, Roche has already been reducing IT support and IT development work for some time. In Kaiseraugst in the canton of Aargau, where Roche has invested hundreds of millions, office space is said to be ‘virtually deserted’.

Unprofessional press relations

However, a media spokeswoman for the Roche Group was unable to say anything about the job cuts when asked by muula.ch on Thursday evening.

She also did not want to reveal why the company had not prepared any information for this situation and only promised to call back. However, this has not yet taken place.

Normally, companies that have a global media hotline have prepared the exact cost-cutting figures so that no information is awkwardly leaked to the world.

The negative situation at Roche seems to be in stark contrast to the positive results over at Novartis, recently reported by muula.ch.

08.02.2024/kut./ena.