MSD’s proposed sale of French manufacturing plant puts over 200 jobs in jeopardy
pharmafile | November 14, 2019 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | France, MSD, pharma
MSD has announced its plans to put its Centre de Mirabel production facility in Riom, France up for sale – a move that will see the company axe more than 200 staff as part of its $1.2 billion reorganisation of its manufacturing operations to “further optimise the company’s manufacturing and supply network, as well as reduce its global real estate footprint”.
The sale will terminate 101 positions in production and 106 in R&D, a considerable portion of the 584 total active roles at the facility, which predominantly deals with the production and packaging of sterile antibiotic injectables and ophthalmic products. It has been reported that trade unions are poised to appeal against the decision.
MSD has justified the move by arguing that research and production has been in decline at the facility for a number of years as increased outsourcing of studies to contract research organisations (CROs) has resulted in operations running at less-than-full capacity – a message that was passed on to workers at the plant when the decision was announced. This eventually led the company to seek to hand the site over to a buyer who was capable of “providing higher production volumes capable of maintaining activity and employment on a sustainable basis”.
This isn’t the first time that MSD has put the site on the market; back in 2015 the company was preparing to jettison the facility to an unnamed contract research organisation, though negotiations eventually fell through. This latest attempt follows the sale of a production site in Amphastar in 2014 and another in Saint-Germain-Laprade in 2015. Also in 2015, MSD shuttered a site in érouville-Saint-Clair, with each sale and closure representing a concerted effort to downsize operation in the country.
Matt Fellows
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