JERUSALEM (JTA) — Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, headquartered in Israel, said it was laying off 5,000 employees.

The layoffs, which were announced Thursday, will take place at Teva sites worldwide and amount to 10 percent of the company’s workforce, according to the Israeli business daily Globes.

Hundreds of employees in Israel are expected to lose their jobs, though most of the layoffs will take place outside of Israel, Teva President and CEO Jeremy Levin told Globes.

Cutbacks and restructuring expected to take place through 2017 are expected to save the company $1.5 billion to $2 billion, half of it in 2014.

Levin told Globes that the cost-cutting plan was due to global challenges, not financial distress.