Zoetis to Cut Up to 25% of Workforce After Ackman’s Pressure

Zoetis Inc., the animal-health drugmaker that was spun off from Pfizer Inc., will fire as many as 2,500 workers -- about one-quarter of its workforce -- after facing pressure from activist investor Bill Ackman to pare down.

The dismissals are part of a plan to cut $300 million in annual costs by 2017. Zoetis will shutter or sell 10 manufacturing sites and will reduce its geographical divisions from four to two, among other measures, the company said Tuesday in a statement. The reduction in expenses will entail as much as $500 million in one-time charges and will boost Zoetis’s 2017 operating profit by $200 million, the company said.