Haleon cuts jobs as it aims to save £300m over next three years: Shake-up comes before anniversary of GSK split
Sensodyne toothpaste maker Haleon is planning major job cuts as it approaches the first anniversary of its listing on the London Stock Exchange.
The FTSE 100 company, which was spun off from pharma giant GSK last July, started this week notifying staff of layoffs as part of a consultation process that will last until August 25 and will see some workers transferred to other roles while others will follow next. month will leave.
The job cuts are part of cost-cutting efforts aimed at saving £300 million over the next three years and will ‘help boost productivity’, according to the company.
Haleon declined to say how many roles were on the chopping block, but it is believed hundreds of jobs could be at risk.
The company currently employs more than 24,000 people worldwide.
Job cuts: Haleon, which makes Sensodyne toothpaste and Panadol painkillers, this week began providing information about layoffs as part of a consultation process that will last until August 25
A spokesperson said the company “announced a number of changes to our global operations internally this week” to make Haleon “more agile.”
“Any decision involving colleagues is not taken lightly, and as we enter a consultation process in relevant markets, we are fully committed to supporting colleagues who may be affected,” the spokesperson added.
Plans for job cuts, first reported by the Guardian newspaper, come days before the first anniversary of Haleon’s debut on the London Stock Exchange on July 18 last year, when it formally spun off from GSK, formerly GlaxoSmithKline.
The newly independent company listed its shares at 330 pence each and despite hitting an all-time high of 358 pence in April, they are currently switching hands at 312.5 pence, 5.3 percent lower than their starting price.
Haleon was founded in 2018 as a joint venture between GSK and its US rival Pfizer, both of whom still hold significant stakes in the company.
In addition to Sensodyne, the company owns brands such as Centrum vitamins and Panadol pain relievers.
Pfizer said in early May it would begin divesting its 32 percent stake in Haleon, though the group has yet to sell any shares.
GSK has already sold 2.5 percent of its stake, giving it a stake of about 10.4 percent.
The announcement of the sale came after Haleon’s first-quarter results fell short of expectations as profit margins were squeezed by rising costs.
The company split was an important part of GSK boss Emma Walmsley’s strategy to focus the pharmaceutical company’s efforts more on developing new drugs and vaccines, and away from consumer health products.
But despite a raft of regulatory approvals for new treatments, including a vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the group’s shares are struggling and are currently 23 percent lower than when Haleon made its debut.