Britain's GlaxoSmithKline cutting hundreds of US jobs in drug marketing, research as sales dip

Hundreds of British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline's 17,000 U.S.-based employees will lose their jobs by the end of next year under the pharmaceutical industry's latest restructuring.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC, best known for its widely used asthma inhaler Advair, is making changes worldwide that are meant to produce about $1.6 billion in annual savings within about three years.

The restructuring was announced on Oct. 22, when the company reported third-quarter results that included a 13 percent drop in global sales and a 62 percent plunge in net income.

Glaxo says it will eliminate about 900 jobs in marketing and research in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, though some cuts will be made through a hiring freeze and not filling vacant positions. Some positions will be shifted to the company's U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia.