Nearly all of the 4,700 workers at three Janssen Pharmaceutica facilities went on strike today to protest job cuts that are part of J&J’s global restructuring announced last July, Reuters reports.

Just a few clinical trials, part of research programmes, were taking place, says Janssen spokesman Stefan Gijssels. “This affects all our activities,” he tells Reuters. “We have no idea how long it will last, but we have to talk with unions as soon as possible. That means probably in the coming days.”

Johnson & Johnson is cutting up to 4 percent of its global workforce, or about 4,800 jobs, to offset declining sales of certain drugs. As part of this, Janssen planned to cut costs by 15 percent, including axing 521 full-time employees and not renewing 167 temporary workers’ contracts. But a social plan presented to workers was voted down last Thursday by 90 percent, Reuters reports.

Janssen has told workers that the move is necessary because of the changing nature of the pharmaceutical industry in which many blockbuster drugs are about to lose patents and regulatory costs are increasing. “At the same time we have to invest in research,” said Gijssels. “We are in the same boat as a number of other pharmaceutical