Novo Nordisk, darling of the weight-loss boom, is trimming its own waistline. The Danish drug maker is cutting 9,000 jobs.
According to Bloomberg, it took 1,835 Novo employees to generate each $1 billion of revenue last year. Eli Lilly, maker of a competing obesity drug, managed the same with just 1,044.
It illustrates a broader pattern. US firms usually look leaner than their European counterparts when judged by revenue per employee.
The gap partly reflects culture. Novo, for example, reflects Danish work-life traditions, with many employees leaving early for family commitments or taking extended time off in summer.
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In the US, investors expect a harder-edged performance culture, with headcount treated as a lever to be pulled rather than a social compact.
Sector mix matters, too. America’s corporate landscape brims with tech companies churning out extraordinary sales with relatively few staff.
Europe’s giants are more often found in labour-intensive or heavily-regulated industries: manufacturing, pharma, consumer goods.
That makes them look flabby in comparison, even if the difference says more about business models than inefficiency.
Still, the aggregate numbers back the stereotype. For some time now, GDP per hour worked has grown faster in the US than in Europe, and American stocks have outperformed.
Leaner firms partly explain why.
