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 th

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