Pharma industry latest to be hit by layoffs as industry giant announces sweeping jobs cull

Moderna is set to slash ten percent of its workforce this year, the pharmaceutical giant revealed on Thursday morning. 

The company - the maker of one of the most prevalent Covid-19 vaccines - now faces uncertainty as that market dwindles. 

The move, announced in an internal memo by CEO Stephane Bancel, is part of the company's previous plan to cut operating expenses by about $1.5 billion by 2027. 

'We've made significant progress by scaling down R&D as respiratory trials conclude, renegotiating supplier agreements, and reducing manufacturing costs,' Bancel said in the memo. 

Moderna has been banking on revenue from newer mRNA shots, including its experimental COVID-flu combination vaccine, to make up for falling sales of its COVID-19 shot and less-than-expected uptake of its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine.

However, investors have been concerned about the prospects of new shots and the changes in vaccine policy under U.S. Health Secretary and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.