ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has no plans for layoffs and its business is doing well, Swiss CEO Thomas Schinecker said on Sunday.
Roche’s share price fell well below the highs reached in April 2022, and the CEO was asked about the company’s staffing plans in the context of recent drug development setbacks, including for cancer.
“The number of employees remains stable or increases slightly,” Schinecker said in an interview with NZZ am Sonntag when asked whether the company was planning layoffs.
“I can definitely say that we have a very well business. We also have no problems with growth,” he said, noting that Roche’s research and development budget is stable and not growing.
Asked when Roche’s planned anti-obesity drug will hit the market, Schinecker said it could be around 2029 or earlier.
Referring more broadly to the outlook for next year, especially in featherlight of the recent problems of the German economy, Roche’s CEO stated that Europe continues to face challenges.
“There is some economic growth in the United States, but the situation in China is more difficult now,” he said. “And in Europe, it will take some time to get out of this.”