Drugs Firm AstraZeneca To Cut 7,300 Jobs

Pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca has announced plans to cut 7,300 jobs as part of a restructuring strategy.

The British company expects changes to take effect by 2014, delivering just over £1bn of cost savings per year by then.

In the UK, up to a 10th of the 3,000 research and development workers, who focus on gastrointestinal and heart issues, at AstraZeneca's Alderley Park site in Cheshire will be made redundant.

The nation's second-largest pharmaceutical firm has 61,000 employees worldwide, with 8,000 in the UK.

It cut 12,600 positions between 2007 and 2009, with a further 9,000 roles axed by the end of last year.

Stephen Whitehead, the chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry told Sky News AstraZeneca is dealing with a changing industry.

"The AstraZeneca research facility in the UK is their biggest in the world. AstraZeneca counts the UK as its home and if you look at the global figures they're announcing I think they're adjusting and developing appropriately."

Unite has vowed to minimise the impact of the latest round of job cuts.

"This is a blow to Britain's research and development base and Unite will be doing everything possible to minimise compulsory redundancies at Alderly Park," the union said.

AstraZeneca reported annual profits of £7.8bn, a 13% rise on last year.

It expects earnings to fall in 2012, as key drug patents expire opening it up to increasing competition from generic brands, while prices are squeezed by the UK and US governments.

At the end of last year the company closed its site in Charnwood, near Loughborough, but still has seven others across England.

AstraZeneca 's latest restructuring plan comes almost exactly year after its US rival Pfizer announced it would shut down its plant in Sandwich, Kent.

But many of the 2,400 Pfizer employees were able to find new jobs straight away, while also receiving a substantial redundancy payout.

Speaking on Jeff Randall Live, Mr Whitehead defended the pharmaceutical industry describing it as an "extremely risky and difficult business."

"The reputation the industry has is not deserved any more... Now we're in collaboration with the NHS, we work closely with the Government, with research charities and universities. 

"We're extremely transparent on data, extremely transparent on how we work with the medical profession and also how we work with patient groups," he said.