Drugmaker Lilly to trim workforce by nearly 9 percent

INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly will slash its global workforce by nearly 9 percent as the drugmaker closes some research sites and pushes to trim fixed costs.

The Indianapolis company said Thursday it will cut about 3,500 positions, mostly through a voluntary retirement program in the United States. The insulin maker employed 41,240 people worldwide at the end of June.

Lilly will close research and development sites in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and Shanghai, China. It also will move production from an animal health manufacturing site in Larchwood, Iowa, to another plant.

Chairman and CEO David Ricks said in a statement that his company wants to streamline its business in order to invest in new treatments and capitalize on recently launched drugs. The company expects about $500 million in annual savings from the cuts.