Merger woes: Sun Pharma asks some Ranbaxy staff to leave

A spokesperson said the objective of Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy merger is to create a larger and better organisation for all its stakeholders.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has started easing out excess employees from Ranbaxy, including senior executives, following completion of its $4 billion acquisition of the Gurgaon-based firm.

Asked to confirm a report of 18 top executives of Ranbaxy being asked to leave, a Sun Pharma spokesperson said: "If there are few employees who could not be positioned appropriately, the organisation will make all attempts to handle the same in a fair, transparent and sensitive manner."

The spokesperson said the objective of Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy merger is to create a larger and better organisation for all its stakeholders.

"To make this happen, the company has made and will continue to make all efforts to utilise the total available talent in the most appropriate manner," he added.

According to the report by The Economic Times, 18 top executives of Ranbaxy, including Indrajit Banerjee, president and chief financial officer; Yugal Sikri, country head (India) Ranbaxy; Maninder Singh, VP marketing; Govind Jaju, global head, sourcing; Ratul Bahaduri, director-finance, have been asked to leave.

The report also said nearly 150 senior management staff, including those who are vice president and above will be asked to leave over the coming months.

Sun Pharma spokesperson, however, did not comment on the total number of Ranbaxy employees to be affected by the restructuring post the merger.

In March, Sun Pharma completed the merger of Ranbaxy with itself and it resulted in duplication of positions as the two companies have similar business models and market presence.