Teva said to consider eliminating more jobs in Israel, US as debt woes mount

Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, saddled with debt that’s almost three times its market value, is considering another round of sweeping job cuts, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.The firm plans to fire at least 10% of its US employees and 25% of its Israeli workforce, the local business daily reported last Thursday, without saying where it got the information. The world’s largest maker of generic medicines hasn’t made a final decision regarding the number of positions that will be eliminated, the person said, declining to be identified as the discussions are confidential.The job cuts would potentially be the first major move by chief executive officer Kare Schultz, who took the helm at the start of this month, in grappling with the beleaguered drugmaker’s mounting woes. The company has been forced in recent months to sell assets, cut jobs, pare its profit forecast and renegotiate the terms of its accord with creditors as its copycat medicines ran into intensifying competition and declining prices in the US. Those steps haven’t helped stem a rout in the stock, which slumped to its lowest in 17 years in New York earlier this month.A Teva spokesman declined to comment.The company’s US shares, which have plunged 63% this year and on November 2 touched their lowest since May 2000, have since rebounded slightly, taking its market value to about $13.7bn.While Schultz’s prior experience in cutting almost a fifth of the jobs at H. Lundbeck to bolster the Danish company’s profitability has led to speculation that he would replicate the strategy at Teva, he’s likely to run into roadblocks in Israel.When Teva announced in August that it would lay off 350 Israeli workers, a key union responded with labour disputes and negotiated the final number down to 230.Israel’s national labour union Histadrut on Thursday said it won’t accept any unilateral decisions by Teva to cut its workforce in the Middle Eastern country where Teva was founded and remains headquartered. Yaniv Levy, a union spokesman, said the labour group had been told “that there is no plan or numbers at this stage, and every step, if and when they are taken, will be done through discussion.”Teva, which lost its monopoly on its best-selling product last month, is set to begin dismissals in coming days, according to Calcalist. Michael Hayden, head of global research and development, is expected to leave the company, according to the report.