Novartis to shed 2,000 global jobs

Novartis has announced plans to cut around 2,000 jobs, with its Swiss and US operations bearing the brunt of the move.

The company, which has already cut thousands of jobs, said the plans would be put in place over the next three to five years. The measures, which come as Novartis attempts to deal with growing price pressures and the strength of the Swiss franc, will affect 1.7 per cent of the firm's global workforce and is aimed at extracting $200m in annual savings. Alongside the cuts, Novartis announced an 18 per cent rise in third quarter net sales to $14.8bn.