The maker of the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy announced on Wednesday that it will be cutting 9,000 jobs in the company.
Novo Nordisk said a majority of the jobs lost, 5,000 of them, will be in Denmark, The Associated Press reported. The company has 78,400 workers total.
The job losses account for just over 11% of the global workforce, The New York Times reported.
The cuts are estimated to save the company about $1.25 billion by the end of 2026, which will be reallocated to diabetes and obesity treatments, including research and development, company officials said.
“Our markets are evolving, particularly in obesity, as it has become more competitive and consumer-driven,” Novo Nordisk President and CEO Mike Doustdar said, according to the AP. “Our company must evolve as well. This means instilling an increased performance-based culture, deploying our resources ever more effectively, and prioritizing investment where it will have the most impact — behind our leading therapy areas.”
The cuts also come after years of tremendous growth, followed by about a year of competition from Eli Lilly’s and other treatments, which are lower cost than what Novo Nordisk offers, the Times reported.