Merck cuts 8,500 more jobs

US pharmaceutical giant Merck has announced it will cut 8,500 further jobs in an attempt to cut $2.5bn (£1.5bn) from its costs by 2015.

The company's shares rose 2.35% to $48.73 in New York trading after it announced the cuts.

The new losses, combined with 7,500 job cuts announced in 2011 and 2012, amount in total to 20% of its workforce.

Merck said it will be shifting its focus to areas it sees as high growth, such as cancer treatment.

'Difficult decisions'
It is also pulling products in late-stage trials it estimates will not be so successful, and licensing other products to alternative companies.

The New Jersey-based company anticipates its costs will be reduced by $1bn at the end of 2014, from cutting marketing, administrative, research and development operations.

Kenneth Frazier, chief executive at Merck, said: "While these actions are essential to ensure that Merck can continue to fulfil its mission into the future, they are nevertheless difficult decisions because they affect our dedicated and talented colleagues.

"We appreciate the contributions of all our employees, and we will support them during this time of transformation."

Merck will also be selling property in New Jersey to help save costs.

Alex Arfaei, analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said he was concerned Merck was putting too much faith in a handful of experimental drugs.

He said these include a new type of cancer drug that boosts the immune system, a treatment for Alzheimer's disease, improved versions of its cervical cancer vaccine and its treatment for hepatitis C.

"Overall, today's announcement makes us more cautious about the potential of Merck's pipeline" of experimental drugs, Mr Arfaei said.

Siemens cuts 15000 jobs in six billion euro savings drive

Germany engineering company Siemens says it will cut up to 15,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2014.

German news agency dpa reported Sunday that the company wants to cut 5,000 jobs in Germany and another 10,000 jobs abroad.

A Siemens spokesman, whose name was not given, told dpa that the cutbacks will not necessarily mean that all the workers will lose their jobs, since some could be transferred to other departments.

Siemens could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Munich-based company has around 370,000 employees and makes a wide range of industrial machinery, including trains, power generators and transmission equipment, and medical scanners.

Chicago : Navistar to cut hundreds of jobs

Navistar International Corp. will cut a few hundred jobs, plus 140 contractors, by early September, the company announced today.

The Lisle-based heavy-duty truck and engine maker said the cuts will be companywide, but mainly in North America. Navistar said it's still evaluating which departments the cuts will affect.

Over the past year, the company said, it's been looking to reduce its cost structure. "This is a continuation of that," said Elissa Maurer, a spokeswoman for Navistar. "Unfortunately, it is not an easy decision, but it's something that is necessary."

Navistar's recent troubles stem largely from its bungled three-year, $700 million effort to develop new technology for large diesel engines that could meet federal emissions standards.

Navistar held 28 percent of the U.S. and Canadian heavy-truck market in 2010, narrowly trailing leader Freightliner, a division of Daimler A.G. By the first quarter of 2013, the number was down to 14 percent, the company reported in April.

Navistar abandoned its alternative engine technology late last year and began installing 15-liter engines built by Cummins Inc. The Environmental Protection Agency recently certified its 13-liter engine, which, like Cummins, uses industry-standard technology to reduce emissions.

Recently Navistar announced plans to save $175 million by selling assets, closing plants and reducing its workforce, which it did by 2,100 employees in 2012. In a recent call with investors and analysts, company executives said it was on track to meet or exceed the $175 million goal.

Chicago : Citadel cutting 25 to 30 jobs

Citadel Securities is cutting 25 to 30 jobs, including senior managing director Matt Cushman, as it consolidates the technology and support teams linked to its automated trading operations, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Citadel spokeswoman Katie Spring confirmed the cuts were taking place. Citadel Securities is a unit of Citadel LLC, which also runs a market-making business and one of the world's largest hedge funds.

The cuts amount to up to 10 percent of the workforce of Citadel Securities and will happen mostly in New York, but also in Chicago and Palo Alto, Calif., the person said.

Citadel identified overlapping positions supporting its retail and institutional trading business during its annual business review at the beginning of the year, the person said.

Cushman was a high-profile hire from Knight Capital Group, along with Jamil Nazarali, in 2011.

Despite the restructuring of the unit, Ken Griffin, Citadel's chief executive, does not plan on pulling back from the trading business, the person emphasized.

"If anything Ken wants us push more into that space."