GSK to slash about 150 consumer commercial jobs in India

Amid a wave of recent biopharma layoffs, GSK is adding to the trend by letting go of approximately 150 employees in India.

The British drug giant has decided to eliminate its consumer trade channel in the country, The Times of India reports. The employees were responsible for taking orders from chemists and ensuring that the company's consumer brands were available in stores around the country, according to the publication. These days, that can be achieved digitally. 

“As part of a strategic review of our business over 150 colleagues from our Commercial Trade Channel business in India have been impacted," a GSK spokesperson told Fierce Pharma in an emailed statement. "In keeping with our values, we are supporting them with appropriate financial and outplacement support.”

It's been a busy group for GSK and its global consumer unit. In July, the drugmaker spun off the large group under the name Haleon.

The new standalone company sells popular brands such as Sensodyne toothpaste and Emergen-C, and will have its own headquarters in Weybridge, U.K. Last year, the unit produced sales of 9.6 billion pounds.

As for the recent biopharma layoffs, GSK is one of many companies to hop on the trend in recent months. Novartis, in the midst of a huge restructuring, revealed plans to cut 8,000 employees in July and is now reportedly weighing a potential sale of its ophthalmology and respiratory disease businesses.

And just this month, Clovis Oncology laid off 115 employees. Avanir Pharmaceuticals in October let go of 109 employees, while Stride Pharma recently disclosed 88 layoffs at its Chestnut Ridge manufacturing site in New York.