![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2.77823480.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Danish drugmaker employs about 400 people in Athlone. Employees at the site were told on Monday that up to 75 jobs could go, according to the Westmeath Independent.<\/p>\n
The company confirmed that it had announced a global workforce reduction and said its priority during the process was to support staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of respect for the employees involved, we will not share additional details about individual sites or areas,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis process takes time, and our highest priority is to support our employees.\u201d<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk added that the restructuring was part of a broader transformation intended to \u201csimplify our organisation, improve decision-making speed, and reallocate resources towards the company\u2019s growth opportunities in diabetes and obesity.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The maker of Ozempic and Wegovy has revealed plans to cut jobs at its Irish operation in Athlone (James Manning\/PA)<\/p>\n
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – September 30th <\/p>\n
The company said the organisational changes would help it work more efficiently and \u201cfocus on what matters most, driving innovation and reaching many more patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Athlone facility, which manufactures drug ingredients for the global supply chain, has expanded in recent years as demand for Novo Nordisk\u2019s medicines increased.<\/p>\n
The firm produces two well-known drugs, the weight-loss and diabetes treatments Ozempic and Wegovy.<\/p>\n
However, the company has come under pressure despite the popularity of its products. As recently as June, Novo Nordisk was Europe\u2019s most valuable listed company.<\/p>\n
Since then, it has faced weaker-than-expected demand in the US and growing competition from rival Lilly.<\/p>\n
The company has also undergone significant leadership changes. In May, long-time chief executive Lars Fruergaard J\u00f8rgensen was replaced following a disappointing earnings report.<\/p>\n
His successor, Maziar Mike Doustdar, introduced a hiring freeze in August and instructed employees to return to the office full-time.<\/p>\n
Reports from Bloomberg indicated that some staff were asked to accept demotions, with pay cuts and reduced responsibilities, as part of the restructuring drive.<\/p>\n
Shares in Novo Nordisk have fallen by about 45pc so far this year, leaving the group with a market value of around \u20ac209bn.<\/p>\n
The planned cuts in Athlone come at a sensitive time for Ireland\u2019s pharmaceutical industry. As concerns grew last week when US president Donald Trump said he would impose a 100pc tariff on branded drug imports, before White House officials clarified that trade with the EU and other countries with agreements would not be affected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Danish drugmaker employs about 400 people in Athlone. Employees at the site were told on Monday that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,38532],"class_list":["post-53979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-rory-mcginn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}