Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced Wednesday that CEO and President Jeremy Levin will be stepping down from his position and leaving the company. The news, coming on the heels of Teva's announcement of a new cost-cutting plan estimated to result in 800 Israeli jobs lost and 5,000 jobs lost worldwide, follows firm denials as recently as Tuesday that Levin would resign. Rumors suggested that a rift was forming between himself and Teva's board chairman Phillip Frost over the companys revised business strategy and cost-reduction program. The board has named Eyal Desheh, Teva's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, to fill Levin's role while a search begins for a permanent successor. Since I joined Teva, we have made tremendous progress in setting a new course for the company, said Levin in a statement released by Teva on Wednesday. "I wish the company and its people, whom I respect greatly, every success. I look forward to pursuing new opportunities where I can continue to apply my experience and contribute to the evolution of the global pharmaceutical industry. Levin was named Teva CEO last May, after many years working in the pharmaceutical industry. The deteriorating relationship between the company's management and board reportedly stemmed from Levin's attempts to appease Israeli workers and politicians following the announcement of the intensive cost-cutting program and the accompanying massive layoffs. News of the widespread layoffs caused a firestorm among Israeli politicians earlier this month due in large part to the extensive tax benefits the company receives from the Israeli government. Opposition Leader Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) called Teva's cost-cutting plan "a mass terror attack," saying that given the near-zero taxes the pharmaceutical giant pays the state, the plan was an "act of cannibalism." Teva later came to an agreement with the Histadrut Labor Federation that all layoffs in Israel would be subject to Histadrut approval. In the company's statement, Frost announced that "the board and management team are fully committed to the implementation of Teva's strategy, including the development of new compounds, making strategic acquisitions, forming joint ventures and the planned acceleration of the companys cost reduction program. The cost-cutting program preempts the expiration of the patent for Copaxone, Teva's multiple sclerosis treatment, reportedly responsible for 30-35% of the company's net profit. It is expected to reduce Teva's 46,000-strong international workforce by about 10 percent and to achieve a yearly cut in expenditures of about $2 billion by the end of 2017. Teva reached $20.3 billion in net revenues in 2012, and will report its third-quarter 2013 financial results on Thursday.
