Staff cuts at GSK and Sanofi-Aventis

London, UK-based pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and the Paris, France-based drug major Sanofi-Aventis are both planning cuts to their workforce amidst an increasingly difficult market environment. GSK is to cut 2% of its global R&D staff as part of a cost-cutting plan announced in October of last year. The London-based firm is to eliminate 350 jobs from three facilities in the USA, UK and Italy, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, in France, it was first reported in daily newspaper Les Echos, and later confirmed by a spokesperson, that Sanofi will cut between 700 and 800 sales representative positions domestically, one third of its total workforce. Proceedings for the layoffs are due to begin in September.