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New CEO under pressure to turn around Novo's fortunes

quickly

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Restructuring to cut 9,000 jobs globally, 5,000 in Denmark

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CEO told Danish staff most cuts would be done by this week

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Danish staff join 'Club 5,000' for laid-off workers

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Research, manufacturing, IT, other areas hit by layoffs

By Maggie Fick, Soren Jeppesen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

LONDON/COPENHAGEN, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Romel Amineh is

one of a fast-growing group of Novo Nordisk workers in Denmark

laid off as the drugmaker battles to cut costs and revive its

fortunes in a fiercely competitive global obesity drug market.

They call themselves the "Club 5,000".

The company is racing ahead with job cuts in its home market

in areas from manufacturing and research to IT and quality

control, according to eight sources interviewed by Reuters and

an analysis of hundreds of social media posts.

The pace of layoffs, which the company says will impact

5,000 jobs in Denmark, underscores the pressure on new CEO Mike

Doustdar to quickly turn around Novo's fortunes and

reduce costs in its obesity drug battle with Eli Lilly ( LLY ).

'CLUB 5,000' MEMBERS ORGANISE DRINKS, SHARE JOB TIPS

The affected departments have not previously been disclosed

and Reuters' report gives the most in-depth look so far inside

the mass layoffs - key for Novo's prospects, but a blow for

thousands of local and global staff and Denmark's economy.

Powered by blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, launched in

2021, Novo became Europe's most valuable company with a market

capitalisation that exceeded Denmark's entire economic output.

But competition from Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Mounjaro and a growing

number of copycats have slowed Wegovy's growth, and Novo's share

price has slumped more than 60% from its peak, prompting the

ousting of its long-time CEO and the restructuring drive.

Since the cuts were announced by Doustdar on September 10,

hundreds of Novo staff in Denmark have joined the unofficial

Club 5,000 community online. The hashtag is used for everything

from sharing job leads to organising drinks and group walks.

"People have a connection through the culture that has been

there at Novo Nordisk," said Amineh, who was laid off this month

from his IT role for clinical trials. He created a LinkedIn

group for fired Novo workers on Friday.

By Tuesday, it had over 1,000 members.

JOB CUTS AIMED TO BE COMPLETED BY 'POTATO WEEK' HOLIDAY

Three Novo sources - two laid off, one still at the firm -

and two others briefed by employees said the company was aiming

to complete the bulk of layoffs by "potato week" - this week's

autumn school holiday. The timeline was presented to staff in a

town hall last month. Two of the Novo sources said some layoffs

could slip into November.

The pace and scale of the cuts - Novo is shedding 9,000 of

its near 79,000 global workforce, roughly 34,000 of whom are in

Denmark - has raised concerns that the company could find its

operations strained by lower staff numbers.

"The ones left behind are really going to have a hard time,"

said one scientist who lost his job. He added, though, that

severance packages had been generous.

Another laid-off worker described the selection process as

opaque. The Danish Society of Engineers, which represents many

Novo production staff, told Reuters that nearly 500 members had

joined its meetings since the layoffs were announced. The union

echoed the fact that Novo had offered generous severance.

Novo, whose shares have risen since the layoffs were

announced, said that "the process takes time, and our highest

priority is to support our employees." It declined to comment

further on specific findings by Reuters.

NOVO LOOKS TO PROTECT PROFITABILITY

A review of nearly 300 LinkedIn posts by Denmark-based

employees showed dismissals have gained pace in the last two

weeks, with spikes in job-loss announcements on September 30 and

October 7.

Doustdar, who took over in August, said when unveiling the

plan "the faster the better" within legal and ethical limits.

"The speed of the layoffs points to Novo trying to protect

profitability," said Gareth Powell, head of healthcare at

London-based Polar Capital.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the

sensitivity of the matter, said the cuts had also hit teams in

sustainability, finance and business support, as well as

blue-collar jobs in key plants at Kalundborg and Hillerod.

One Hillerod worker said there were major cuts in packaging

teams preparing new lines for Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic,

both due to ramp up in 2026.

Another laid-off staffer familiar with Hillerod and

Kalundborg said cuts in quality assurance, warehouse and line

operations could strain capacity during upcoming expansions.

"We're not making bicycles. This is highly regulated and

requires many quality assurance staff for new production," the

person said. The person acknowledged that management may have a

reorganisation plan to offset lower staff numbers.

'IT'S A NEW CORPORATE ETHOS'

Novo staff got wind of the layoffs in August, said one

laid-off worker, who added that people had felt in "limbo"

since.

The union said the layoff process was agreed between

management and internal "member clubs", which act almost like

staff unions. A handful of members accepted demotions to stay at

Novo, it said, but were given only 24 hours to decide.

One Copenhagen-based employee who managed manufacturing

compliance documents said about 85% of his team was dismissed.

Others acknowledged Novo needed to slim down after its rapid

expansion.

A sustainability manager posted on LinkedIn that the layoffs

marked a shift in strategy and a tougher approach.

"It's a new corporate ethos," the person wrote.