Allergan, Fighting Takeover Bid, to Cut 1,500 Jobs

Allergan Inc. said it will cut about 1,500 employees, in an attempt to boost shareholder value as it resists a takeover bid from Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

The job cuts, announced Monday as part of a restructuring, represent about 13 percent of Allergan’s global workforce. In addition, the Irvine, Calif.-based maker of Botox plans to eliminate about 250 vacant positions.

Allergan is fighting a $53 billion takeover bid from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. The Canadian firm is backed by activist hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management is Allergan’s top shareholder.

Valeant’s chief executive has suggested that Allergan is overstaffed and that its research-and-development team is ripe for cuts.

A company spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

The restructuring, Allergan said, will boost stockholder value through improved efficiency and productivity. The effort is expected to result in $475 million in pretax savings next year.

The company on Monday also announced its second-quarter earnings. Allergan said profit rose 16 percent, to $417.2 million, from the comparable quarter last year. Revenue rose 17 percent, to $1.86 billion.

This article appeared in print in the July 22nd, 2014 edition of Hamodia.