ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has no plans to cut jobs and its business is healthy, CEO Thomas Schinecker was quoted as saying by a Swiss newspaper on Sunday.
Roche’s share price fell well below the peaks it hit in April 2022, and the CEO was asked about the company’s hiring plans in the context of recent setbacks in the development of drugs to treat cancer, among other diseases.
“The number of workers is constant or slightly increasing,” Schinecker said in an interview with NZZ am Sonntag when asked if the company plans layoffs.
“I can say with certainty that we have a very healthy business. And we have no problems with growth either,” he said, noting that Roche’s research and development budget is stable and not growing.
Asked when Roche’s planned obesity drug would hit the market, Schinecker said it could be around 2029 or earlier.
Speaking more broadly about the outlook for next year, particularly in light of the recent problems in the German economy, Roche’s CEO said Europe still faces challenges.
“There is some economic growth in the United States, but things are more difficult in China right now,” he said. “And in Europe it’s going to take a while before we get out of this.”
