Teva Pharmaceutical’s US-listed shares received a shot in the arm on Friday following a report that the struggling Israeli drugmaker could be looking to cut up to 10,000 jobs in a bid to reduce costs and pay down its debt pile.
Teva employs some 500 people in Ireland, between operations in Waterford and Dundalk, Co Louth.
The stock gained 7.7 per cent to $16.16 (€13.73) after Bloomberg said the generic drugmaker is targeting between 5,000-10,000 job cuts – or as much as 17.5 per cent of its 57,000 strong workforce.
The report also added the company is aiming to cut operating costs by $1.5 billion to $2 billion over the next two years and is not planning to move ahead with an equity offering in the near term.
The world’s largest maker of copycat drugs, Teva has seen its shares shed more than 55 per cent of their value over the past 12 months amid rising competition from rival drugmaker and growing price pressure from buyers who are demanding larger discounts.
– Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017
