Israel's powerful Histadrut trade union has called a nationwide strike for Sunday following reports that troubled drug giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries will axe thousands of jobs.

The head of the Histadrut labour union, Avi Nissenkorn, said the strike against the "shameful" cuts would last for several hours.

It would affect the entire public sector, as well as banks, the stock market, air and road traffic services and all of Teva's facilities, said Nissenkorn.

Teva, the world's biggest manufacturer of generic drugs, is to announce a cost-cutting programme on Thursday that will include thousands of layoffs, according to widespread media reports.

The Calcalist business newspaper said Teva intended to "cut over 4,000 jobs, mainly in the US and Israel" as it was saddled with almost $35 billion in debt.

Financial daily Globes said Teva would "fire at least 3,000 employees out of its workforce of 7,000 in Israel".

"Teva will close down and sell its Kiryat Shmona Migada disposable medical equipment plant and cut 505 of its workforce in the Petah Tikvah head office," Globes wrote.

"All R&D operations in Netanya will be closed down and other operations will be sold off," it added, referring to the coastal city.

Israeli public radio also reported on Wednesday that Teva planned to slash thousands of jobs.

Spokespeople at the company's headquarters near Tel Aviv could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

On November 1, Teva replaced interim chief executive Yitzhak Peterburg with Danish healthcare industry veteran Kare Schultz in what chairman Sol J. Barer called "the start of a new chapter" for the company.

Source: AFP