In an effort to shake up an organization that has produced few major advances recently, GlaxoSmithKline announced plans to axe 350 jobs in its R&D operations. The cuts--part of a major restructuring announced last fall--will terminate staffers at three labs in the U.S., Italy and Germany. The cuts inside GSK reflect the new CEO's strategic move to look outside the company for innovations in drug technology. That's a move that has benefited biotech companies with a lineup of new, big-dollar collaboration deals.
"These changes are part of GSK's longer-term strategy to ensure that we invest in key areas of future growth and evolve our business to compete effectively in what is a rapidly changing and challenging environment for pharmaceutical companies," a spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.
You can expect more changes ahead. Glaxo signaled that it's restructuring its research activities into smaller teams and changing its incentives to reward innovation or punish failure. One of those punishments evidently includes a pink slip.
- read the article in the Wall Street Journal