LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Novo

Nordisk has begun a round of layoffs in its most

important market, the United States, with affected staff set to

be notified between this week and next, according to an email

and two sources familiar with the matter.

The time-frame for the layoffs has not previously been

reported. The move comes as the Danish company behind popular

weight-loss drug Wegovy looks to cut jobs globally and reduce

costs in a battle with U.S. rival Eli Lilly ( LLY ).

U.S. layoffs began on Tuesday and will continue until late

next week, according to a schedule in the email. They come after

an acceleration of job cuts in Novo's home market, Denmark,

where it plans to eliminate 5,000 positions.

CUTS ACROSS MANY TEAMS FROM REGULATION TO SALES

Departments expected to be informed of cuts include human

resources, clinical development, rare diseases, medical and

regulatory, legal, ethics and compliance, marketing and sales,

finance, public affairs and others, the schedule showed.

Reuters was unable to confirm how many people would be

affected. Novo is looking to shed 9,000 roles globally in a

restructuring drive under new CEO Mike Doustdar, who took office

in August.

Novo did not immediately respond to a request for comment,

but has said previously that the global process would take time

and its "highest priority is to support our employees".

The sources asked not to be named in order to share

confidential company information.

The layoffs come as Doustdar tries to restore investor

confidence with what he calls a tighter focus on commercial

execution and on the obesity and diabetes therapeutic areas.

Doustdar took the helm after a sliding share price and

slowing Wegovy sales growth led to the ouster of long-time CEO

Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen.

Novo's shares are up around 6% since the restructuring was

announced on September 10.