Novartis will eliminate 550 jobs in Switzerland by 2027 to modernise a factory for cell and RNA therapies, a move condemned by trade unions.
ZURICH: Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis plans to cut 550 jobs in Switzerland by the end of 2027.
The company is modernising its factory in Stein, near Basel, to stop producing pills and capsules and focus on manufacturing cell therapies.
“To maintain competitive production, we must focus on innovative production technologies and invest in a high degree of automation,” said Steffen Lang, head of Novartis’s operations.
Novartis will invest $26 million in the Stein plant to focus on manufacturing more complex treatments.
The company also plans to invest $80 million in another site near Basel to boost production of RNA treatments for cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases.
Approximately 80 new jobs could be created at this plant by 2028.
Switzerland’s largest trade union, Unia, condemned the job cuts as “completely incomprehensible” given Novartis’s strong financial position.
The union criticised the move as the company expands production sites in the United States.
“Unia condemns the job cuts and the weakening of Switzerland’s industrial sector,” it said in a statement.
The union demanded “investment to keep jobs in Switzerland” instead of cutting positions.
Basel-based Novartis reported revenue of $50.3 billion last year and employed 78,310 people worldwide at the end of 2024.
The company employs about 10,000 people in Switzerland, including 5,000 in research and development. – AFP
