Blow for Irish pharma sector as Teva, Elan cut staff

pharmafile | September 7, 2009 | News story | Manufacturing and Production Elan, Teva, lilly 

Ireland’s pharmaceutical sector suffered a double blow last week as two drugmakers opted to make staff redundant at manufacturing plants in the country.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world’s largest generic drugmaker, said it was shutting a plant in Waterford, with the loss of 315 jobs, and was shifting production to Eastern Europe or Israel, according to a Reuters report. Some of the production is destined for a plant in Hungary.

The cuts are equivalent to around half the total workforce at the plant, which manufactures oral solid dosage forms and inhalers. It is understood that only the oral dosage form manufacturing is affected by the latest decision.

The cutbacks will include both voluntary and compulsory redundancies and are said to be a result of “the challenges of operating in a high cost and difficult economic environment in Ireland”, according to Teva. In particular, the relatively high wages paid to Irish staff were a factor in the decision.

Meanwhile, Elan said it would let 29 staff go at its facility in Athlone, Co Westmeath, in the wake of a decision by Eli Lilly to end contract manufacturing of its antidepressant duloxetine at the plant. Lilly first handed the Irish drugmaker the contract to make duloxetine back in 2004 and production of the drug started there the following year.

Duloxetine is a $1.5 billion product for Lilly but the drugmaker has ramped up its own production capacity for the drug, including an investment in a plant near Madrid in Spain.

The latest round of job cuts, which Elan said would be voluntary, comes after the firm cut global staff numbers by around 230 back in February in order to cut operating expenses by $30-$35 million in 2009. During the first half of 2009, the company reported an operating loss of $67 million on total revenues of $385 million.

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