Strong forint’s first victim? Mass layoffs at Hungarian pharmaceutical giant

Richter Gedeon has announced a round of collective redundancies affecting more than 30 employees over a 30-day period, the Hungarian pharmaceutical giant confirmed, adding that it has already notified the Budapest Metropolitan Government Office of its intentions. The cuts will chiefly affect pharmaceutical manufacturing, particularly active ingredient production. The main reason behind the mass layoffs seems to be the strengthening forint, not the AI or the automation.

Hungarian pharmaceutical giant reduces workforce

The company stressed that the decision was not prompted by a one-off business difficulty, but by the need to safeguard long-term competitiveness in manufacturing. Richter warned that maintaining the economic viability of active ingredient production has become an increasing challenge for European drugmakers, prompting the launch of several efficiency-enhancing projects in Hungary. These initiatives are aimed at reducing production costs, with the newly announced job losses partly reflecting their successful implementation.

The group said it would comply fully with all labour regulations during the redundancy process, while seeking to treat affected employees fairly and, where possible, offer opportunities for continued employment.

Despite reporting revenues of nearly HUF 929bn last year — an increase of 8.3 per cent year on year — Richter’s net profit fell by 3 per cent to HUF 232.2bn (approximately EUR 654 million). The company employed 11,955 people at the end of 2025, including 6,097 in Hungary, marking an annual increase of 177 staff.

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First quarter less favourable due to strong forint

The first quarter of this year, however, painted a less favourable picture. A sharply strengthening forint weighed heavily on the export-oriented company, Richter said. Quarterly revenues came in at HUF 217.3bn, down 1.3 per cent year on year, while currency effects shaved more than seven percentage points off revenues reported in forints. At constant exchange rates, the company noted, revenues would in fact have risen by nearly 6 per cent, Világgazdaság wrote.

The announcement also unsettled investors. Richter shares fell in Monday trading, slipping into negative territory by more than 1 per cent by mid-morning and underperforming the broader BUX index.

The Hungarian forint began to strengthen after it became clear that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would not be able to remain in power. Following the 12 April election, the strengthening continued, which was good news for Hungarian employees but bad for exporting companies such as Richter. The forint currently stands at 354.21 against the euro, compared with nearly 400 in March. Against the US dollar, it stands at 310.83, compared with almost 340 in March.

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Featured image made by AI. Original source: Facebook/Richter Gedeon Nyrt.