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March 16 (Reuters) - Amgen Inc said on Thursday
it would cut 450 jobs, or less than 2% of its workforce, making
it the company's second round of layoffs this year amid
intensifying pressure on drug prices and high inflation.
"We made these changes to realign our expense base in the
face of intensifying pressure on drug prices and high levels of
inflation," a company spokeswoman said in a statement to
Reuters.
The company had about 25,200 staff members in more than 50
countries as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to its latest annual
regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Layoffs by U.S. companies over January and February this
year touched the highest since 2009, a report showed. Amgen's
decision to downsize its workforce underscores the impact of
rapidly increasing interest rates on the healthcare industry.
Amgen laid off about 300 employees in January as part of
organizational changes. The drugmaker's fourth-quarter revenue
fell slightly, as a 4% increase in sales of its own drugs was
offset by lower revenue from its deal to manufacture COVID-19
antibody treatments for Eli Lilly .
The biotech company forecasted 2023 revenue in a range of
$26 billion to $27.2 billion, while analysts had estimated
$27.17 billion.
(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi and Deena Beasley; Editing by
Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)
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