Category News

Novo Nordisk, the maker of blockbuster weight loss medication Wegovy, will cut 9,000 jobs amid growing competition in the industry led by US rival Eli Lilly.

The Danish pharmaceutical giant announced the cuts on Wednesday, marking the largest layoff in Denmark’s history. The restructuring is slated to save the company 8 billion Danish crowns ($1.25bn) annually.

This comes amid changes in the company’s C-suite. Last month, Novo named Maziar Mike Doustdar as CEO to replace Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen.

Once Europe’s most valuable company by market capitalisation, Novo has seen its market cap fall to roughly $181bn from its peak last year of $650bn. At the time, Novo’s market cap exceeded Denmark’s annual gross domestic product.

On Wednesday, the company issued its third profit warning this year.

“They need to reignite investor confidence with an appealing growth story for the future,” said Novo Nordisk shareholder Lukas Leu, a portfolio manager at ATG Healthcare, to the Reuters news agency.

“The obesity market was misjudged. It’s much more consumer-driven than anticipated, and Novo expanded organisational complexity too quickly.”

Rise and fall

The Danish pharma giant’s surge in growth began in 2021, when Wegovy was the first highly effective obesity drug to be approved in the United States. Novo Nordisk nearly doubled its headcount over the last five years amid its then surge in growth, which drove it to become Europe’s most valuable company — a title it has gone back and forth with over the last year with the owner of Moet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, LVMH.

The company, which is based in Bagsvaerd just outside Copenhagen, has 78,400 workers. Last month, it announced a hiring freeze on non-essential roles. The new cuts will account for 11.5 percent of the company’s total workforce, with at least 5,000 cuts from the workforce in Denmark. Novo Nordisk declined to specify which business units would be impacted.

In July, Novo lost $70bn in market value as it warned of a hit in profits amidst increased competition in a market it once dominated.

Bank of America analysts said they now expect Novo to issue a fourth profit warning when it reports third-quarter results in November, doubting the company can meet the top end of its sales guidance.

Novo is slimming down while also trying to boost output to meet rising demand for its products and readying the pill version of Wegovy as well as exploring the additional health benefits of its glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) portfolio.

In the fourth quarter, it expects to save at least one billion Danish crowns ($157m), which it plans to redirect into research and development, manufacturing expansion, and improving global patient access.

“We need to have the best-in-class launches, especially as competition is increasing,” Doustdar said in a call with reporters. “We want to make sure we don’t have to spare a dime.”

“This is the new CEO’s first major move to simplify Novo’s structure and redirect resources toward growth in diabetes and obesity,” said Michael Novod, head of equity research for Denmark at Nordea Bank.

Increased competition

Novo Nordisk has faced challenges as sales of Wegovy and diabetes treatment medication Ozempic begin to lose momentum, particularly in the United States.

Eli Lilly’s Zepbound overtook Wegovy in weekly prescriptions in the US earlier this year, although Wegovy prescriptions began to increase at a faster pace over the summer, narrowing Lilly’s lead in the critical market.

On Tuesday, Israel launched a targeted air strike on a Hamas leadership compound in Qatar’s capital, Doha, during a meeting to discuss a US-proposed ceasefire for Gaza.

The strike killed six people, including the son of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, the director of al-Hayya’s office, three bodyguards and a Qatari security officer. However, its top leaders are reported to have survived the attack.

The attack was part of a wider wave of Israeli strikes extending beyond its immediate borders, and marked the sixth country attacked in just 72 hours and the seventh since the start of this year.

Israel continues to bombard Gaza

Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed at least 150 people and injured more than 540 others since Monday.

On Monday, 67 people were killed and hospitals received 320 wounded, including 14 people killed while seeking aid, while six people – among them two children – died from famine-related causes. On Tuesday, another 83 people were killed and 223 were injured.

Israel is continuing its assault on Gaza City, targeting high-rise buildings, destroying infrastructure, and forcing residents from their homes, leaving many with nowhere safe to seek shelter.

Since its onset in October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 64,656 people, including at least 404 who have died of starvation. Thousands more have been lost under the rubble and are believed to be dead.

Despite a truce, Israel bombs Lebanon

On Monday at 1:00pm local time (10:00am GMT), Israeli warplanes carried out strikes in the Bekaa and Hermel districts of eastern Lebanon, killing at least five people.

Israel’s military claimed it had struck weapons depots and military facilities used by Hezbollah, though the assertion could not be independently verified. Hezbollah has not yet issued a response.

The attacks marked the latest breach of a ceasefire agreement signed last November.

Despite the truce, Israel has continued near-daily assaults on Lebanese territory, particularly in the south, and maintains an occupation at five border outposts in violation of the ceasefire’s withdrawal terms.

On Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike was reported at the entrance of the village of Barja, about 30km (19 miles) south of Beirut, wounding a Hezbollah member.

Israel targets Syria

On late Monday night, Israeli warplanes struck several sites in Syria, hitting a Syrian air force base in Homs and a military barracks near Latakia, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Residents reported powerful explosions in Homs and ambulances rushing to the scene in Latakia, though there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the attacks as a “blatant violation” of its sovereignty and a “direct threat” to its national and regional security. State media described the strikes as part of “a series of aggressive escalations” by Israel aimed at undermining Syrian sovereignty.

Since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites and infrastructure across Syria. It has also expanded its presence in the occupied Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarised buffer zone, in violation of a 1974 disengagement agreement with Damascus.

The SOHR reports that Israel has already carried out nearly 100 attacks this year, including 86 air raids and 11 ground assaults, destroying approximately 135 sites and killing 61 people.

Gaza flotilla attacked twice off the coast of Tunisia

On Monday night, the Global Sumud Flotilla’s (GSF) main ship, the Family Boat, was struck by a suspected Israeli drone while docked at the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said, igniting a fire.

The 23-metre (76-foot) vessel, sailing under a Portuguese flag and carrying the flotilla’s steering committee, had six people on board. According to the GSF, the blaze damaged the main deck and storage areas but was quickly extinguished by passengers. All crew and activists were reported as safe.

The Family Boat is part of a coalition of more than 50 vessels with delegates from at least 44 nations seeking to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza. It departed on August 31, 2025, before joining other ships at Sidi Bou Said port.

A second attack followed late on Tuesday night, when another flotilla vessel, the Alma, sailing under a UK flag, was also targeted by a suspected Israeli drone in Tunisian waters. The GSF said the strike caused fire damage to the ship’s top deck, though the flames were brought under control and no casualties were reported.

Since 2010, several flotillas have attempted to break the blockade of Gaza, with most being intercepted or attacked by Israel in international waters.

Israel targets Hamas leaders in Qatar

The attack on Qatar, nearly 2,000 km (1,243 miles) from Israel, marks the first time Israel has struck the small Gulf nation, which has hosted multiple rounds of negotiations between Hamas, Israel and the United States.

The explosions were heard across Doha with thick smoke rising above the skyline. Israel’s military later confirmed it had struck a compound in the West Bay Lagoon area, a district which is home to foreign embassies, schools, nurseries, supermarkets and residential compounds housing native Qataris and foreign residents.

The Hamas leadership has been hosted by Qatar at the request of the United States, which also has a regional command centre, CENTCOM, located just 35km (22 miles) away from the location of the attack.

Israel attacks Yemen’s capital

Israel launched an air strike on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on Wednesday, targeting Houthi positions. The strike hit Sanaa airport, marking the second attack on the site in a month. Israel previously struck Sanaa airport on May 6, destroying its terminal building and badly damaging the runway.

On August 28, 2025, Israeli air strikes targeted a Houthi government meeting in the capital, killing Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and several other senior officials.