Reckitt Benckiser has cut 100 jobs in five months at its new US healthcare business, Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, which it hopes will give it a platform to roll out its other healthcare brands – such as Clearasil and Gaviscon – in the US.

Reckitt, which is taking a £60m restructuring charge linked to its acquisition of Adams, maker of the Mucinex expectorant drug, said the cuts were equivalent to 20 per cent of the workforce.