Elanco Animal Health will eliminate more than 900 jobs as part of a restructuring brought about by the company’s $6.89 billion acquisition of Bayer Animal Health.
The cuts will take place worldwide, affecting employees in sales and marketing, research and development, manufacturing and quality control, and back-office support. Workers in Basel, Switzerland, where Bayer Animal Health had a large presence, are among those hit hardest, Elanco reported Sept. 30.
The merger of Elanco and Bayer closed Aug. 3, creating duplicate jobs and leaving the opportunity to create a leaner company. The job cuts come at a hefty cost: $170 million to $190 million in severance payments that will be made over two years.
Elanco will save much more over the long haul.
“After our early view of the combined business, we have full confidence in delivering $275 million to $300 million in synergies, with the first two-thirds coming in the first 30 months,” said Jeff Simmons, president and CEO of Indiana-based Elanco. “Today’s actions will reduce duplication and increase efficiency within our global footprint, while the team builds longer-term plans around procurement savings, SKU optimization and streamlining manufacturing processes.”
The merger of two top-10 animal health companies catapulted Elanco to No. 2 globally, just behind Zoetis Inc. in annual revenue.
Elanco used a $4.275 billion loan to finance the acquisition. A $100 million repayment was made Sept. 25.
“With the acquisition closed and working capital needs established, we have sufficient liquidity to begin deleveraging thanks to strong cash flow in Q2 2020,” said Todd Young, executive vice president and CFO of Elanco. “We will continue to repay debt from our operating cash flow in 2021 with a focus on our $500 million note, which is due in August 2021.”
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