Israeli drug giant to lay off 5000 workers worldwide

The world's biggest generic drugs manufacturer Teva Pharmaceutical Industries will fire 10 percent of its workers worldwide, the Israeli-based company announced on Thursday in a statement. Most of the 5,000 employees will be fired by the end of 2014. The move will help Teva save two billion U.S. dollars annually by 2017, compared to the previously guided range of 1.5-2 billion U.S. dollars, the statement said. Teva further mentioned that these steps are part of its " restructuring program, which was introduced in December 2012 and included actions to divest non-core assets, increase organization effectiveness, improve manufacturing efficiency and reduce excess capacity." The company reiterates its full-year 2013 financial outlook and anticipates ending the year near the midpoint of its original 2013 ranges for revenue of 19.5-20.5 billion U.S. dollars. Teva did not say how many employees it will layoff of its 7,400 workers in Israel, but the Israeli Ha'aretz daily reported that about 800 workers will lose their jobs. Most of Teva's employees in Israel are members of the National Labor Union, the Histadrut, but some are employed on a personal contract basis without a collective protection.