Israeli drugmaker Teva to cut 14,000 jobs worldwide

JERUSALEM, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical, the world's largest generic drugmaker, has unveiled on Thursday its two-year restructuring plan, stating it will fire 14,000 workers to help balance the company's debt.

Teva said in a statement that the total cost base would be reduced by 3 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2019, and the workforce would be reduced by over 25 percent.

Kare Schultz, Teva's President and CEO, said the cuttings are a vital step in order to put the company, once the flagship of the Israeli industry, back on track.

"The plan (is) crucial to restoring our financial security and stabilizing our business," Schultz said in a statement, adding that Teva is "taking immediate actions to reduce our cost base across our global business and become a more efficient and profitable company."

"Teva will optimize its cost base while ensuring that we protect our revenues and preserve our core capabilities in generics and in select specialty assets, in order to secure long-term growth," he said.

In Israel, the layoffs will reportedly include about 2,000 workers. In response, the Histadrut, Israel's main labor federation, announced on Wednesday that a general strike, including all sectors, will be held on Sunday from morning until noon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he spoke with Schultz and asked that the company keeps the number of Israeli workers that would be dismissed "to a minimum," according to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office.

Netanyahu also asked Schultz that Teva would preserve its Israeli identity, the statement said.

Teva has faced multiple problems over the past years, and fell into a crisis in 2017, with nearly 35 billion U.S. dollars in debt due to the acquisition of Allergan's Actavis generic drug producer for 40.5 billion U.S. dollars, and the expiration of the last of its patents on its best-selling drug, Copaxone, a multiple sclerosis drug. Enditem