Novo’s workforce falls by 13,000 in a year amid cost cuts
- Novo’s workforce fell by 13,000 over the past year.
- About 9,000 of those jobs were cut in last year’s restructuring.
- A further 4,000 left, mostly through attrition and unfilled roles.
- Novo now has approximately 66,000 employees worldwide.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Novo, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, has cut its workforce by 13,000 over the past year, combining 9,000 job cuts announced last year with about 4,000 further departures, mostly through natural attrition and roles left unfilled.
Attrition adds 4,000 to Novo’s cuts
Novo disclosed the figure at an investor day in London, where chief executive officer Mike Doustdar set out his plans to revive the company’s fortunes, according to The Irish Times.
The group cut 9,000 jobs last year, including 5,000 in its home country of Denmark, out of a workforce of 78,400.
A spokesperson said most of a further 4,000 exits over the past year were due to natural attrition and Novo deciding to leave roles unfilled.
The company now has approximately 66,000 employees worldwide, according to its capital markets day release.
Doustdar said Novo would become “a larger and more diversified company by 2035.”
Novo targets new blockbusters by 2030
“We have a pipeline that is almost second to none,” Doustdar said.
Novo pledged to launch more than five “multi-blockbuster” drugs by 2030 and is targeting 150 billion Danish kroner (about US$23 billion) in pipeline sales by 2035.
Its shares fell as much as 7% on the morning of the announcement as investors reacted to the turnaround plan, The Irish Times reported.
Novo has fallen behind rival Eli Lilly in the obesity-drug market, and semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, has lost patent protection this year in India, Brazil, Turkey and China, though Novo is expected to launch CagriSema, a next-generation obesity drug, next year.
Cuts at a company of Novo’s size raise the question of which work moves to offshore outsourcing and business process outsourcing (BPO) partners when roles are left unfilled rather than replaced. When a large employer shrinks through attrition as well as announced layoffs, buyers comparing the top BPO companies worldwide can test how quickly providers absorb work that in-house teams no longer cover.
The Irish Times’ reporting confirms that Novo’s 13,000 reduction combines last year’s announced cuts with a quieter wave of attrition.
For enterprise buyers facing similar cost pressure, leaving roles unfilled is a slower and less visible way to reduce headcount than announcing layoffs.
Offshore teams that can take on work from unfilled roles are positioned to support companies cutting costs without new layoff announcements.
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