AstraZeneca’s site in Mölndal will continue to be a global center for research and development, the company recently announced. At the same time, another 2 300 employees are being made redundant.

The company plans to invest in strategic R&D centers in the UK, the US and Mölndal, Sweden, focusing on small molecule and biologics R&D activities. The Mölndal site will primarily focus on small molecules.
Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca said: “The changes we are proposing represent an exciting and important opportunity to put science at the heart of everything we do because our long-term success depends on improving R&D productivity and achieving scientific leadership. This is a major investment in the future of this company that will enable us to accelerate innovation by improving collaboration, reducing complexity and speeding up decision-making. The strategic centres will also allow us to tap into important bioscience hotspots providing more of our people with easy access to leading-edge academic and industry networks, scientific talent and valuable partnering opportunities.”

Alongside the investment in R&D, AstraZeneca is also restructruring the sales and administration organization. This implies a global reduction of staff by approximately 2 300 employees. The majority of this headcount impact is, according to the company, related to programmes under way or already communicated to affected employees. The restructuring is combined with two previously announced programs. These comprise the headcount reduction of 1,600 related to the proposed R&D footprint changes announced on 18 March 2013, and the balance of the Phase 3 restructuring programme announced in February 2012, which amounts to 1,150 roles. The total combined Phase 4 programme entails an estimated global headcount reduction of about 5,050 over the 2013-2016 period.