Another round of layoffs at multinational pharmaceutical companies are underway with the nearing end of the year. Starting in the second half of the year, 5 companies have already launched early retirement programs (ERPs).

The reasons are varied. Whether it's their cash cow crisis, divestitures, or mergers and acquisitions, multinational pharmaceutical companies are taking a hard look at their situation and making layoffs where they deem necessary. This has become a common occurrence in the pharmaceutical industry.

In fact, multinational pharmaceutical companies have made mergers and acquisitions (M&A) this year in a variety of rare disease areas, including autoimmune diseases, r