Takeda to cut 4,500 jobs as it steps up restructuring drive

Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) plans to eliminate around 4,500 jobs in fiscal year 2026 as part of a restructuring programme aimed at centralising corporate functions and reducing costs, the Japanese drugmaker said on Wednesday.

The company expects the overhaul to generate annual savings of more than ¥200bn ($1.27bn) by fiscal 2028, with roughly ¥100bn anticipated in the current year. A Takeda spokesperson said the cuts represent less than 10 per cent of its global workforce and do not account for planned hiring. The company currently has around 2,200 open roles and intends to prioritise internal candidates to fill new positions created during the year.

Takeda has been reshaping itself for several years following its $62bn acquisition of rare disease specialist Shire in 2019, a deal that significantly expanded its global reach but left it carrying substantial debt. Restructuring charges of approximately ¥170bn are expected in fiscal 2026, tapering in subsequent years.

The company flagged higher selling, general and administrative costs alongside increased R&D spending tied to a pipeline of upcoming launches, including narcolepsy treatment oveporexton, blood disorder drug rusfertide and psoriasis pill zasocitinib. It said much of that increase would be absorbed by savings from the restructuring.

Stephen Barker, analyst at Jefferies (JEF), said investor attention was likely to turn to three late-stage product launches expected over the next 12 to 18 months. Earlier this month, Takeda's immune disease drug met the primary endpoint in a mid-to-late-stage trial, with a US regulatory submission planned for this year.

The announcement follows a wave of job cuts across the sector. Novo Nordisk (NVO) said in September it would shed 9,000 positions as it braces for intensifying competition from Eli Lilly (LLY) in the weight-loss drug market.