Lonza to cut jobs, costs

Lonza will cut about 450 jobs and reduce costs by CHF60-80m. Chief executive, Stefan Borgas, said the cuts come as a result of cancellations and postponements in large-scale biopharmaceutical custom manufacturing, an 18 month delay of a lead customer project in cell therapy due to clinical disappointments and continued low order level for Lonza's Exclusive Synthesis due to key customers reducing net working capital. The company's share price fell around 20% on the news.
Last week, Lonza withdrew its $460m bid for Patheon after the major shareholder, JLL, refused to talk. Borgas said the company is still looking for value creating add-on acquisitions. Lonza is looking to enlarge its life sciences business technology portfolio, strengthen its offering for life-science researchers including CRO services; strengthen the CMO value chain by entering finished dosage form development and manufacturing; and add niche portfolio products to the nutrition business.
Reuters