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Novo Nordisk CEO Advocates Employees to Return To Office
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Key Takeaways
- Novo Nordisk is urging a return to office to improve decision-making and commercial execution, while maintaining some work-from-home flexibility.
- The company is cutting 9,000 jobs to streamline operations and reinvest in diabetes and obesity treatments amid increased competition.
Novo Nordisk urges employees back to the office while announcing 9,000 job cuts to streamline operations and enhance decision-making.
The push to return to the office follows Novo’s announcement of cutting 9000 jobs.
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Novo Nordisk announced this week that all staff are urged to return to office in an effort that the CEO says is to help to accelerate the company’s decision making along with improving its commercial execution. According to the Danish news agency Ritzau, the company’s work from home held no general guidelines, and rules varied from country to country and department to department.
"This is designed to foster a stronger sense of belonging, strengthen relationships, enhance collaboration and accelerate decision-making processes," the company said in a statement.1
Change of scenery
Changing employees work location isn’t the only change for Novo. As of Wednesday September 10, 2025, Novo announced 9,000 jobs were being cut following stunted sales growth, along with a fall in shares, chipping upwards of $450 billion off Novo’s market cap since the middle of last year. Novo faces competition from U.S. rival Eli Lilly along with additional compounded copycat drugs. HK Privat, an organizer of administrative staff at Novo Nordisk (and chair of the Danish trade union), touched on the decision to remove the work from home option for employees during a challenging time saying he was “surprised” that Novo discontinued the option.
Kim Jung Olsen touched on the topic of removing the work from home policy, saying, “Working from home and a vibrant office culture are not necessarily mutually exclusive. It is unfortunate for the many employees who have enjoyed being able to work from home from time to time that management has not managed to make this work at Novo Nordisk."1
Amidst the company’s layoffs, altering the work from home policy for employees is an indication of Novo following suit of other large name companies altering their work from home policies. Back in January, JPMorgan Chase urged its employees to return to the office five days a week, along with President Donald Trump ordering federal workers back into office, and Amazon who issued a return to office policy last year.
Novo did make a statement saying that the possibility of working from home is still available for its employees, continuing to add that employees can make individual agreements with managers, leaving flexibility allowing for both business and personal needs to be met.
What is the impact of Novo Nordisk’s layoffs?
Pairing with the return to office movement, in an effort to “simplify” the organization, Novo announced a reduction in its workforce aimed at removing upwards of 9000 positions globally.Novo’s plan is to streamline operations, reduce complexity, and free up resources allowing for the company to reinvest into diabetes and obesity treatments.
Mike Doustdar, CEO, president, Novo Nordisk, touched on the initiative in a press release, saying, “As the global leader in obesity and diabetes, Novo Nordisk delivers life-changing products for patients worldwide,” “But our markets are evolving, particularly in obesity, as it has become more competitive and consumer-driven.”2
Novo anticipates the layoffs to generate $1.25 billion in annual savings by 2026, along with the company restructuring expected to bring $1.25 billion in net one-off costs including impairments valued at $1.4 billion in Q3 this year and an additional $147 million in Q4.
Sources
- Novo Nordisk tells staff to return to office full-time amid CEO's revival effort Reuters September 11, 2025 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/novo-nordisk-tells-staff-return-134046079.html
- Novo Nordisk to Cut 9,000 Jobs in Global Restructuring Effort Pharmaceutical Executive September 10, 2025 https://www.pharmexec.com/view/novo-nordisk-cut-9-000-jobs-global-restructuring-effort
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