GSK to axe U.S. jobs as part of $1.6 billion cost cuts: sources

(Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline will this week inform U.S. staff of hundreds of job cuts in its biggest market as the drugmaker starts implementing a major cost-saving program, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Britain's top drugmaker announced at third-quarter results on Oct. 22 that the new restructuring scheme would save 1 billion pounds ($1.56 billion) in annual costs over three years, but it has yet to tell employees where the axe will fall.

Staff in the United States, where GSK has been struggling with falling sales of respiratory drugs, will be briefed on the changes on Wednesday by the company's head of North American pharmaceuticals Deirdre Connelly, the sources said.

A GSK spokesman declined to go into details but said the aim of the restructuring program was to improve performance by reducing complexity and establishing a smaller, more focused and lower-cost organization.