Glaxo Will Cut 1,000 Sales Jobs in U.S. Under Cost-Cutting Plan

GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Europe's largest drugmaker, will eliminate 1,000 sales positions in the U.S. as part of a plan to trim costs. The jobs will be cut by the end of the year, a company spokeswoman said in an interview recently. Glaxo said in October 2007 that it would cut jobs in sales, manufacturing and research as part of a plan to save 700 million pounds ($1.12 billion) per year by 2010. In June, the company said it planned to cut about 350 jobs in R&D in the U.S., U.K. and Italy. The London-based drugmaker is struggling to adapt to a "significant transitional period" in the business as four best-selling medicines face cheaper generic copies and sales of diabetes drug Avandia slow, the CEO said last month. Revenue in the U.S. dropped 13% last quarter and the company is relying on expansion in emerging markets and sales of over-the-counter products to fill that gap. Glaxo shares have fallen about 6.9% this year, compared with an 11% drop in the Bloomberg Europe Pharmaceutical Index.