Roche Jobs Shift to China

As a former Roche employee (and holder of a pension) my eye is always drawn to stories about changes at that company.  Last week they announced a major cost cutting effort in the US and Europe, letting slip an internal memo naming the employees responsible for each sector.  This week they are announcing a hiring boon in China, increasing headcount there by as many as 750 jobs.  This appears to be the sharp end of the stick in China that we have been watching for, as the Chinese government invests in its drug development capacity and more large sponsors move in to establish operations.  The Fierce article notes that Eli Lilly announced thousands of layoffs last year while staffing up in China.  I think this puts India under some pressure, as clinical trial application approval times there have slipped into 120 days and more, a not very welcoming gesture to sponsors interested in running clinical trials there and have the means to ensure patient safety and ethical conduct.