The drugmaker recently discussed cutbacks at a management meeting and the number of jobs being considered for elimination are expected to be in the thousands, and come not only from sales and marketing, but also research and development and pharma administration, according to the Swiss newspaper, Sonntag.

“This will not only concern a few hundred people but many more. And the job cuts will not be made in one single country but on a worldwide scale,” the paper quoted one source, who also indicated the announcement will be made this week, although a Roche spokesperson tells Reuters that no decision will be made that soon. “We are always working to improve productivity and will continue to do so. But it is too early to speculate on potential job cuts,” Reuters reports, adding that Roche management holds its monthly meeting this week but no decision would be made on job cuts.

Certainly, Roche has not had encouraging news lately. The FDA rejected the drugmaker’s request for accelerated approval for a new breast cancer treatment and an FDA advisory panel recently voted to rescince approval to use the blockbuster Avastin med to treat breast cancer (see here), placing added pressure on the way the FDA manages its accelerated approval program. The breast cancer indication for Avastin was originally approved under that program.