Galapagos biotech company will cut about 200 jobs in its European branches, as a result of a new strategy. The company announced it Thursday night. There will also be an impact on Switzerland. The measure is a consequence of the new strategy announced by Galapagos on Thursday evening at the publication of its quarterly results. It is intended to “accelerate growth and value creation by reshaping the way we innovate and operate,” said CEO Paul Stoffels in the press release. “As a result of our new strategic direction, we plan to reduce our workforce by approximately 200 positions in our European operations,” the company said. “With this, we want to create space to reinvest in new capacities and programs in our oncology franchise. This is a difficult but necessary decision, and we will follow all applicable procedures with respect to our people.’ Marieke Vermeersch, the company’s communications manager, clarified on Friday morning that the 200 jobs will disappear on the company’s large sites in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Switzerland. The company does not give figures by country It is being examined whether the employees involved can be retrained to work in other domains, she says. In the new strategy, research and development in immunology and oncology will be given more importance. Galapagos has a total of 1,357 employees, 563 of whom are based in Belgium. In addition to Belgium, the company is also active with staff in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States.
