Pfizer to shed 177 Cork jobs
Some 177 jobs are to go at the Pfizer plants in Co Cork, the pharmaceutical giant has confirmed.
Workers are being briefed on the proposed job cuts by management this morning.
Some 129 jobs are to go at the company's plant in Ringaskiddy while a further 48 are being lost at Little Island. The job cuts, will be implemented in 2013.
The review of business which has resulted in the job cuts follows the ending of the patent on the highly lucrative cholesterol drug, Lipitor.
In a statement the company said the job cuts were "in response to reduced volumes of medicines manufactured at these sites and the need to re-scale operations appropriately".
"A key factor is patent expiry of Atorvastatin (Lipitor) and other important medicines which have resulted in a decline in global demand," the statement added.
"“This has been a very difficult decision to make and we understand the impact of this on our colleagues and their families," said Seamus Fives, Site Leader, Little Island and Ringaskiddy sites.
Mr Fives said there were "two dynamics at play" as a result of patent expiration of key medicines.
"One, as demand falls due to generic competition, manufacturing volume required reduces significantly," he said.
"Secondly, much greater competitiveness is required to compete with generic medicines meaning that the cost of manufacturing must be reduced.
"Within the Pfizer global manufacturing network, Ireland competes with much lower cost manufacturing locations and continuous focus upon competitiveness is critical for the future.”
Pfizer said the job cuts would be implemented via a comprehensive redundancy programme, and extensive support to colleagues leaving the company will be available.
"A full range of services including career advice, one to one counselling, retirement planning and financial advice will be provided," the company added.
Pfizer employs approximately 4,000 people at eight sites in Ireland.
