The American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Company plans to cut about 30% of the company's workforce in the United States. We are talking about both employees working on a permanent basis and those who work with Eli Lilly on the basis of a contract, Reuters reports.

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About 1 thousand sales representatives may be fired, which will allow the company to reduce costs and gain additional resources in competition with generic drug manufacturers, the American press reports.

By the end of the year, the product that generates most of Eli Lilly's revenue, the depression drug Cymbalta, will lose patent protection, making the drug's formula available to generic manufacturers.

In addition, at the beginning of 2014. Another generic version of the company's drug for the treatment of osteoporosis will go on sale. Fierce competition with generic manufacturers is forcing the company to look for new ways to generate revenue and ways to reduce costs.

According to American media reports, the company's business reorganization program should be completed by the summer of 2013.

Let us remember that in the fall of 2009. Eli Lilly has already announced massive layoffs. Then it was planned to fire 14% of the staff or 5 thousand people, reducing the company’s costs by $1 billion.

Eli Lilly & Company was founded in 1876. Today it is one of the leading international companies in the sector: its products are represented in 125 countries, and its staff is about 38 thousand people. Production facilities are located in 13 countries.

Eli Lilly specializes in the production of drugs for the treatment of endocrinological, oncological, cardiovascular, infectious and mental diseases. Works in Russia since 1991. and is represented on the market with a wide range of diabetic drugs, antibiotics, as well as the drug for the treatment of erectile dysfunction Cialis (produced jointly with the company ICOS).

Based on the results of the fourth quarter of 2012. Eli Lilly's net profit decreased by 4% to $827.2 million compared to $858.2 million in the fourth quarter of the previous year. At the same time, the company's revenue for the reporting quarter decreased by 1% and amounted to $5.957 billion compared to $6.046 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. Operating profit at the end of the reporting quarter 2012 remained virtually unchanged and reached $1.064 billion compared to $1.068 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly will cut up to a third of its workers