LONDON –  AstraZeneca is to cut around 1,600 jobs as it overhauls it research operations and consolidates drug development work in three major centers.

The move will see the end of drug research at the company's Alderley Park facility in northern England, for many years a hub of the group's R&D efforts, the drugmaker said on Monday.

New CEO Pascal Soriot, who will present his detailed strategy plans for the group to investors on March 21, said the program would lead to $1.4 billion in one-time restructuring charges. Annualized benefits of the overhaul are expected to reach approximately $190 million by 2016.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Clara Ferriera-Marques)