AstraZeneca to Cut 8,000 Jobs

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced today that it will lay off 8,000 employees over the next four years, representing 12% of its workforce. Job cuts will impact all divisions of the company, which has a presence in over 100 countries around the world. AstraZeneca’s U.S. headquarters are in Wilmington, Delaware. The company’s U.S. workforce makes up 32% of its employees overall.

The cuts come at a time when AstraZeneca faces increasing competition from generic drug producers. The company will also lose several patents this year. Products scheduled to lose patent protection this year are Armidex, a breast cancer therapy, and Pulmicort Respules, an asthma treatment.