Teva Pharmaceuticals, HQ'd In Montco, Announces Mass Layoffs

Pharmaceutical giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced plans to undergo a massive overhaul of the company on Thursday, including a 25 percent workforce reduction and the loss of some 14,000 jobs.

The Israel-based operation, which has its North American headquarters in Montgomery County in North Wales, did not specify exactly where the cuts will take place. But it's expected that the cuts will be widespread across the globe.

Teva officials say that the restructuring plan will "simplify and unify" business operations and save the company $3 billion by the end of 2019. The 14,000 cuts will take place over the next two years, with most of them occurring in 2018, according to the announcement.

"Today we are launching a comprehensive restructuring plan, crucial to restoring our financial security and stabilizing our business," Kåre Schultz, Teva’s President and CEO, said in a statement. "We are taking immediate and decisive actions to reduce our cost base across our global business and become a more efficient and profitable company.”

In addition to the continental headquarters in North Wales, Teva also has local operations in West Chester, New Britain, Horsham, and Frazer that could be impacted.

While it's not yet clear to what extent Thursday's announcement will effect the North Wales plant and the local economy, news of cuts at Teva is nothing new. In 2015, union members marched to protest recent layoffs in North Wales. And a previous round of about 7,000 job cuts at Teva worldwide were announced as recently as August.

The restructuring will specifically take aim at manufacturing plants. The announcement said the company planned on closing a "significant number" of plants throughout the United States, Europe, Israel, and elsewhere.

For employees who do not lose their jobs, the company is suspending dividends on ordinary shares, and the company's annual 2017 bonus will not be paid out, company officials said.

More information on this closing will be provided as it becomes available.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)