TOKYO: French drugmaker Sanofi plans to cut about 200 jobs in Japan across sales, regulatory affairs and operations, a person familiar with the matter said, months after the company said it would shed nearly 500 jobs in France and Germany.
The cuts at the world’s seventh-largest pharmaceutical company by revenue would extend to back-office positions such as IT and human resources, said the person, who declined to be identified as the information was not yet public.
A Sanofi representative said, “Sanofi Japan plans to implement a voluntary retirement program in order to adapt to the external environment changes and to transform our business models to continue our growth.”
The company declined further comment, saying it does not disclose details of internal operations in Japan.
Sanofi does not give a breakdown of its staff in Japan. As of December, it employed 5,864 people in Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.
In June, Sanofi said it would cut 466 research and development jobs in Germany and France, in a bid to concentrate its research efforts in cancer, immunology, rare diseases and vaccines.
Last December it said it would shed 670 jobs in France. The company has a global workforce of more than 100,000.
French drugmaker Sanofi to cut about 200 jobs in Japan: source
French drugmaker Sanofi to cut about 200 jobs in Japan: source
- As of December, it employed 5,864 people in Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico
- The company has a global workforce of more than 100,000
Work suspended on Riyadh’s massive Mukaab megaproject: Reuters
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has suspended planned construction of a colossal cube-shaped skyscraper at the center of a downtown development in Riyadh while it reassesses the project's financing and feasibility, four people familiar with the matter said.
The Mukaab was planned as a 400-meter by 400-meter metal cube containing a dome with an AI-powered display, the largest on the planet, that visitors could observe from a more than 300-meter-tall ziggurat — or terraced structure —inside it.
Its future is now unclear, with work beyond soil excavation and pilings suspended, three of the people said. Development of the surrounding real estate is set to continue, five people familiar with the plans said.
The sources include people familiar with the project's development and people privy to internal deliberations at the PIF.
Officials from PIF, the Saudi government and the New Murabba project did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Real estate consultancy Knight Frank estimated the New Murabba district would cost about $50 billion — roughly equivalent to Jordan’s GDP — with projects commissioned so far valued at around $100 million.
Initial plans for the New Murabba district called for completion by 2030. It is now slated to be completed by 2040.
The development was intended to house 104,000 residential units and add SR180 billion to the Kingdom’s GDP, creating 334,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030, the government had estimated previously.
(With Reuters)
