Novo Nordisk to Lay Off 9,000 Amid Slowing Obesity Drug Sales In US

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk on Wednesday announced plans to cut about 9,000 jobs from its global workforce as it faces intense competition in the key obesity drug market and slowing sales growth.

The layoffs, part of a company-wide transformation, will affect around 11.5% of its 78,400 employees worldwide and are aimed at saving up to $1.25 billion (8 billion Danish krone) by the end of 2026.

Of the 9,000 job cuts, about 5,000 are expected in Denmark. In a statement, Novo Nordisk said it expects to incur $1.25 billion (DKK 8 billion) in one-off restructuring costs. In the third quarter of 2025, restructuring charges of around $1.41 billion are anticipated, partially offset by savings of roughly $157 million in the fourth quarter.

As a result, operating profit growth for the full year is projected to take a hit of around 6 percentage points compared with the August outlook. In line with this, the Danish firm has updated its 2025 operating profit growth forecast to 4–10%, down from its July projection of 10–16%.

Why cut jobs now?

Over the past few years, Novo Nordisk’s rapid scaling has increased organisational complexity and costs, the company said on Wednesday. During this period, its weight-loss and diabetes management injection Wegovy became hugely popular, propelling the company to become Europe’s most valuable firm in 2024.

However, in its July-quarter earnings, the company lowered its sales outlook for 2025. In August, it attributed this to weaker growth expectations for the second half of the year, citing persistent use of compounded GLP-1s, slower-than-expected market expansion and rising competition.

“The outlook relates to lower growth expectations for Wegovy in the US obesity market, for Ozempic in the US GLP-1 diabetes market, as well as for Wegovy in select international markets,” the company said at the time.

In reaction, investors dumped Novo Nordisk shares, wiping $70 billion off its market value, according to Reuters.

The company’s new CEO, Mike Doustdar, said on Wednesday: “Our markets are evolving, particularly in obesity, as they have become more competitive and consumer-driven. Our company must evolve as well. This means instilling a stronger performance-based culture, deploying our resources more effectively, and prioritising investment where it will have the most impact – behind our leading therapy areas.”

Shares of the drugmaker on the Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange (CPH) have fallen more than 45% so far this year. On Wednesday, they were trading up 3.23%.