Australia’s largest pharmaceutical company CSL will reduce its headcount by 15% and spin off its vaccine division in response to an “unprecedented level of challenge and volatility”.
CSL expects a one-off, pre-tax restructuring cost hit of $700m-$770m in the 2026 financial year. The company has conducted a series of changes across its research & development (R&D) department, operating model, and plasma network. For example, the company closed 22 underperforming plasma centres in August 2025.
CSL did not disclose the areas of the company from where the 15% reduction in employee base would be initiated. As of 2024, CSL employs 32,000 people globally.
The initiatives are expected to lead to savings of $500m-$550m progressively over the next three years, with the majority achieved by the end of the 2027 financial year. CSL said it would redirect the funds to “high priority opportunities”.
While most of CSL’s revenue comes from its blood plasma treatments for rare illnesses, the pharma company is also one of the world’s largest influenza vaccine manufacturers. It supplies more than 130 million doses of seasonal influenza doses globally each year in its Afluria, Fluad and Flucelvax brands.
CSL also announced a planned spin-off of its vaccine division, known as CSL Seqirus. The company did not disclose a valuation for the demerger, which is slated to be completed in early 2026 and produce a publicly listed company in Australia, but CEO Dr Paul McKenzie said it would help “reshape and simplify the [core] business”. Profit in the vaccine unit dipped due to reduced demand in the US – a revenue area the company hopes to address in 2026.
"We firmly believe that a simplified and focused CSL is best for patients, best for our people, and best for our shareholders,” McKenzie added.
The company said it would also buy back A$750m ($486.50m) of shares this financial year, partaking in a wider trend of share buybacks across the global pharma industry. Sanofi and Eli Lilly are both undertaking billion-dollar share buyback programmes.
The significant restructuring, announced on CSL’s 2025 financial year earnings report, eclipsed what was a positive year for the company. Net profit after tax was $3bn for the past 12 months up to June 2025, a rise of 15% on constant currencies.
CSL’s headcount reduction and vaccine spinoff dragged shares down 9.5%, from A$271.32 at market close on 18 August to A$245.45 at market open on 19 August. The Australian-listed company has a market cap of A$109.1bn, making it the country’s fifth-largest company.
In regard to impacts from tariffs, McKenzie said CSL’s strategic initiatives would not be impacted due to its heavy US manufacturing presence. His statement echoed wider sentiment shared by big pharma company execs in the Q2 earnings window, many of whom expect minimal impact.
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