Staff blockade Sanofi-Aventis facility in France
pharmafile | October 21, 2010 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | France, Sanofi, Sanofi-Aventis, job cuts, manufacturing and production
Workers at a Sanofi-Aventis manufacturing facility in Romainville, France, sealed off the gates of the plant to protest plans to close it down.
The action comes against a backdrop of extensive strikes and demonstrations across France over the government’s proposals to increase the retirement age to 62.
The Romainville plant employs around 170 workers – already a reduction from around 250 in April – and is due to be closed by the end of 2013. It makes active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) using microbial fermentation techniques, including antibiotics and corticosteroids.
A report on French news site Boursier.com notes that the industrial action was organised by the CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail) union, the second-largest in France.
Earlier this month the CGT organised a similar day of action outside Sanofi’s plant in Neuville-sur-Saône, which is set to be downsized by around 800 jobs as it expands its focus from chemical manufacturing to include vaccines production.
“Management has refused to consider proposals for continuation of activities and jobs on the [Romainville] site,” according to the union.
Sanofi has said it should be able to retain around 80 workers by transferring them to other locations in the Paris region, but the CGT says this is “inadequate,” and that as the company posted 8.5 billion euros in profits it could afford to reassign all the employees at the plant.
Earlier this month Sanofi announced plans to cut 1,700 staff in the US, the latest phase in a 2 billion euro cost reduction pan announced last year.
The company, which is currently locked in an $18.5 billion takeover bid for US biotech company Genzyme, says the reductions are essential because of emerging generic competition to some of its biggest products, including cardiovascular drugs Lovenox (enoxaparin) and Plavix (clopidogrel), which together accounted for 2.7 billion euros out of group pharmaceutical sales of 13.5 billion euros in the first six months of 2010.
Phil Taylor
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