British pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline on Feb. 4 announced a 66% jump in fourth quarter net profit to 1.63 billion pounds (US$ 2.59 billion) and pointed to further job cuts.
However, there was no mention of the exact number of positions set to go after media had reported that GSK planned to axe up to 4,000 jobs.
"Today we have announced an expansion of GSK's restructuring program to deliver additional annual pre-tax savings of 500 million pounds by 2012," the company said in its earnings statement.
"We remain very conscious of the impact restructuring has on our employees. Where possible, we will continue to try to preserve jobs.
"As before, we will not be providing targets for job reductions and we will announce restructuring outcomes once employees, relevant works councils and trade unions have been consulted," GSK added.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010
