AstraZeneca - Top 5 layoffs of 2008

Company: AstraZeneca
Layoffs: 1,400

Summary: As part of an"ongoing program to improve efficiency across the business," AstraZeneca said it would shutter three European plans in Porriño in Spain, Destelbergen in Belgium and Umeå in Sweden. The closings, which will be completed by 2013, will leave 1,400 employees out of work. There will be roles affected at AstraZeneca's Macclesfield, UK and Södertälje, Sweden facilities as well. These cuts are in addition to the 7,600 announced in 2007, which earned the company the number two spot on our list last year. The jobs will head to China, where AstraZeneca is further investing in its Wuxi PharmaTech plant. The company said the changes will make its overall manufacturing and supply chain more efficient.