UCB to cut 17% of staff in major restructuring

Belgian drugmaker UCB says it will cut 2,000 jobs worldwide, 17% of its workforce, as part of its Shape program, which aims to focus the Brussels-based firm on the central nervous system sector.

The firm plans to make around 2,400 redundancies, before creating 400 new positions. It will also re-deploy another 300 workers to core sites. The Shape program is intended to re-allocate 300.0 million euros ($443.5 million) over the next three years by simplifying the firm's organization and increasing out-sourcing for non-core activities.