Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, which employs about 350 people in Overland Park, announced Thursday that it plans to slash its global workforce by 14,000 positions as part of a massive restructuring plan aimed at reducing $3 billion in costs by the end of 2019.
A spokeswoman for the company said it plans to consolidate its seven U.S. offices into one yet-to-be-determined location.
“We have already closed our office in Cambridge, Massachussetts, and are in the process of closing our offices in Washington, D.C., Horsham, Pennsylvania, and Manhattan, New York,” the spokeswoman, Kaelan Hollon, said in an email.
“All streamlining efforts will be consistent with applicable local requirements. Consultations with the relevant union representatives will begin in the near term.”
Hollon was unable to say whether Teva’s two Overland Park locations will be closed. The city and the state of Kansas granted Teva more than $53 million in tax abatements in 2013 to erect a $46 million, five-story headquarters building at College Boulevard and Nall Avenue. Teva also has a smaller facility a few blocks away on 107th Street that employs several dozen workers.
Before relocating to the College Boulevard building, the company had offices at 901 East 104th St. in Kansas City, Missouri.
Doris Saltkill, a local spokeswoman for Teva, said that “everybody is waiting for more news and more clarity.”
The restructuring of Teva, a global pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Israel, comes as it seeks to reduce a debt load of nearly $35 billion. The plans announced by Teva CEO Kåre Schultz, who joined Teva only recently, call for a 25 percent cut of its global workforce and the shuttering of manufacturing and research and development facilities over a two-year period.
The College Boulevard building employs back office people in Teva’s branded drug business, as opposed to its generic drug business. Teva is the largest generic drug manufacturer in the world.
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor for KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
