Teva is working to consolidate seven U.S. offices under one roof, and that means saying bye-bye to its New York and Washington, D.C., locations.
The Israeli drugmaker has already shuttered office sites in the two East Coast hubs, CEO Kåre Schultz—the architect of Teva’s restructuring—told Israeli newspaper Calcalist.
Because the New York offices were pricey and the Washington offices were used mainly by lobbyists, they were clear picks to be crossed off Teva’s list, Schultz explained. The way he sees it, as a member of U.S. trade group the Association for Accessible Medicines, Teva doesn’t need its own lobbying firepower.
The two sites won’t be the only ones to close their doors as Teva works to implement Schultz’s $3 billion cost-cutting plan, which is set to claim a whopping 14,000 jobs. When all is said and done, only one U.S. office location will remain, and the company hasn’t yet said where that will be.
That uncertainty has stirred up concern in and around its current U.S. headquarters in North Wales, Pennsylvania, which has already begun feeling the effects of the cost-cutting drive. Last month, Teva let go of 65 employees across three buildings in North Wales and nearby Horsham, 96 across sites in Fraser and Great Valley, Pennsylvania, and 47 more at a West Chester, Pennsylvania, location.
Meanwhile, some analysts and investors already like what they’re seeing when it comes to the execution of Schultz’s turnaround plan. Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan, M.D., recently upgraded the company’s shares, pointing to “early signs of execution.”
Billionaire Warren Buffett may also be a fan; last week, his company, Berkshire Hathaway, reported that it had grabbed 18.9 million American depositary receipts of Teva, worth close to $358 million.
By Carly Helfand
Source: Fierce Biotech
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