Yitzhak Peterburg has stepped down from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) board of directors. Peterburg served as chairman at the time of Teva's ill-fated decision to acquire Actavis for $40 billion and more recently was acting CEO after Erez Vigodman quit in February until Kare Schultz assumed the position last month. RELATED ARTICLES Kiryat Shmona braces for Teva plant closure Exclusive: Teva to fire 500 managers in Israel Most Teva Israel layoffs expected at Petah Tikva HQ Teva mulls 10,000 layoffs - report "Teva's senior execs should pay back excessive salaries" Teva said, "Prof. Yitzhak Peterburg, a member of Teva's board of directors and the former acting CEO has announced he is stepping down with immediate effect. Prof. Yitzhak Peterburg's decision to leave is for personal reasons only and not related to any dispute with the company. The company thanks Prof. Peterburg for his dedicated years of service and wishes him every success in his future endeavors." Peterburg was chairman when the board of directors approved the acquisition of Activis, for which Teva took on $35 billion in debt, resulting in a substantial amount of the company's value being wiped off its market cap. Teva is set to announce 10,000 layoffs worldwide as part of a streamlining plan to help the company pay off its debt. Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 13, 2017 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017