After a successful year thanks to the popularity of its anti-diabetic treatment Ozempic, which was popular on social media for weight loss, the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk announced on Wednesday that it was cutting 9,000 jobs worldwide, or more than 111,000 of its employees.
"The workforce reduction is planned across the company (...) and is expected to achieve total annual savings of around 8 billion crowns (1.07 billion euros) by the end of 2026," the group wrote in a statement.
On the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, the stock, which has been struggling for a year due to increased competition in the United States, its main market, reacted positively to the announcement. It rose 2.671 TP3T shortly after 11:15 a.m. (09:15 GMT) in a very slight increase in the market.
Some 5,000 jobs are expected to be cut in Denmark, the group, which operates in 80 countries, said.
"5,000 jobs is significant," Nykredit Bank chief economist Palle Sørensen told AFP. "The Danish economy created 2,300 new jobs in June, so that's equivalent to about two months of job growth," he said.
According to him, these job cuts should accelerate the slow rise in unemployment in the short term, but "do not fundamentally change our view of the entire economy because we had already anticipated a real economic effect."
For the third time since the beginning of the year, the century-old laboratory is also revising downwards its forecasts for 2025 with an operating margin now between 4% and 10% compared to 10% and 16% previously announced.
"Our markets are evolving, particularly in the obesity space, as they have become more competitive and consumer-driven, and our business must evolve as well," said new CEO Mike Doustdar, quoted in the press release.
Since 2020, the pharmaceutical laboratory has been hiring at full speed, increasing its number of employees from around 43,700 to 78,400.
– Eli Lilly in ambush –
Novo Nordisk has reached new heights thanks to spectacular sales of Ozempic, an antidiabetic drug popularized on social media.
This treatment is an analogue of GLP-1 (short for glugaco-like peptide 1), a hormone secreted by the intestines that stimulates insulin secretion and curbs appetite by providing a feeling of satiety.
Wegovy, which targets obesity, uses the same hormone. Available in 35 countries, its sales increased by 781 TP3T in the first half of 2025, while Ozempic's sales increased by only 151 TP3T.
The dominance of the Danish company, one of the largest European capitalizations, is undermined by the good results of its competitor Eli Lilly and personalized pharmaceutical preparations in pharmacies in the United States, authorized for a time to compensate for stock shortages.
This authorization ended on May 22, but sales of these preparations continue "under the false guise of 'personalization'," lamented Novo Nordisk, which is working hard to increase its production capacity.
In presenting the group's half-year results at the beginning of August, former CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen acknowledged in an interview with public television DR the need for "adjustments." Novo Nordisk subsequently confirmed a hiring freeze.
“By reallocating our resources now, we can prioritize investments to drive sustainable growth and foster future innovation for the millions of patients with chronic diseases worldwide, particularly in diabetes and obesity,” said Doustdar.
A global health scourge, obesity is a chronic disease that is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain cancers and complications such as Covid-19.
UNICEF warned Tuesday of the surge in obesity among children and adolescents. This year, it has become the leading form of malnutrition among 5- to 19-year-olds worldwide, ahead of undernutrition.
Difficult to treat, it is costly for healthcare systems. Its causes are not only related to lifestyle but can also be influenced by genetics.
If prevention and medical care do not improve, the World Obesity Federation predicts that by 2035, half (51%) of the world's population will be overweight or obese. The global economic impact would be devastating: it could exceed $4 trillion annually.
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