Novartis AG to Cut 2000 Swiss, U.S. Jobs, Add Positions in China

Novartis AG, Europe's second-biggest pharmaceutical company, plans to eliminate 2,000 jobs in Switzerland and the U.S. and add employees in China and India to offset the effect of drug-price reductions. The cuts, equal to 1 percent of Novartis's workforce, will be implemented over three to five years, and will generate annual savings of more than $200 million, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said in a statement today. Novartis will close a plant in Nyon, Switzerland, that makes over-the- counter drugs, and chemical sites in Basel and Torre, Italy, and plans a fourth-quarter charge of about $300 million. Chief Executive Officer Joe Jimenez has been reducing costs since he took the top job in February 2010. Government austerity measures in Europe have forced Novartis to lower prices by about 5 percent this year, he said on a call with reporters as the company announced that third-quarter profit rose 12 percent.