At the end of 2020, less than 10% of the workforce of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) was employed in Israel. Teva reported that it had 3,675 employees in Israel out of a total worldwide workforce of 38,372, in other words 9.6% in Israel.
Teva's work force has fallen consistently in recent years both in Israel and worldwide, following the extensive streamlining plan led by CEO Kare Schultz and introduced in December 2017. Since then the number of employees in Israel has shrunk by 41% compared with 26% overall worldwide.
The fall in the number of Teva employees in Israel began before Schultz took office. At its peak, Teva had 7,400 employees in Israel at the end of 2012, double today's number, and at the time they comprised 16% of Teva's total work force. After the acquisition of Actavis in 2016 and the increase in the number of employees in the US, this figure fell to 12%.
In 2017, Teva found itself in financial difficulties due to the debt it had taken on to buy Actavis, while cash flow was hit by falling prices of generic drugs in the US and the expiration of blockbuster Copaxone's patent. Schults was brought in to handle the situation and introduced his streamlining plan, which saw some Israeli factories closed. For example the Kiryat Shmona plant was sold to FIMI Opportunity Funds.
Teva's 2020 financial report shows that the company's work force in Europe grew 2% in 2020 to 18,569, while it fell elsewhere in the world. 45% of Teva's employees are women and 47% of managers but only 23% of senior managers.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 11, 2021
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