Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation Goes On A Hiring Freeze And Plans To Chop Jobs
Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation Goes On A Hiring Freeze And Plans To Chop Jobs
August 12, 2014
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Germany-based Boehringer Ingelheim announced plans to cut its workforce in order to make money available for investments. The announcement was an apparent response to half-year earnings, which were marked by a 3% drop in sales in the U.S. to €6.5 billion and nearly 8% in euros.
Boehringer, which is privately owned, employs approximately 45,000 worldwide. However, in the last year the number of employees in Germany has risen from 950 to 14,000. The company’s spokeswoman indicated they were entering a “phase of consolidation.” The company also indicated they planned to invest €643 million in new projects in 2014, with about half that figure to be spent in Germany.
Boehringer Ingelheim recently settled a lawsuit with over 4,000 individuals over side effects from their blood thinner product Pradaxa. Pradaxa was approved by the FDA in October 2010, but more than 540 patients died from serious side effects, including GI, rectal and brain bleeding. In May 2014, the company agreed to pay $650 million to settle all 4000 state and federal lawsuits.
In addition, Boehringer recently sold off its Ben Venue Laboratories division located in Ohio, which had been struggling with quality issues. The company had indicated it planned to close the facility, which would result in the loss of more than 1,000 jobs, because the cost of compliance was prohibitive. They sold the facilities to Hikma Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued at about $300 million.
Despite the gloom, Boehringer Ingelheim recently announced that two new products had been approved by the U.S. FDA. Striverdi® (olodaterol) Respimat® was approved in the U.S. for treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema. Jardiance® (empagliflozin) was approved to help improve blood glucose levels in adults with type 2 diabetes. The company’s chairman, Andreas Barner, indicated that the company plans to launch 10 new products over the next two years, and suggests that the workforce contraction allows the company to focus on R&D and the new drug launches.
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Boehringer Ingelheim is axing jobs but others are hiring too. Check it out! (Isn't it tempting?)