160 jobs to go at Cork pharma plant
Some 160 jobs are to go at the Schering Plough pharmaceutical plant in west Cork, it emerged this afternoon.
The jobs will be cut over three years as part of a cost-cutting iniative, staff were told at a meeting this lunchtime.
Some 519 people work at the biotech plant at Brinny, Innishannon, which was established in Ireland in 1972.
Schering Plough says it hopes the redundancies will be voluntary.
The company has been outlining a "transformation programme" to workers, aimed at securing future investment for this site.
The decision, it seems, based on ensuring this site can remain competitive after the parent company for Schering Plough merged with another industry giant Merck last year.
The plant's operations involve the production of treatments for hepatitis C and rheumatoid arthritis, along with some newer products.
Sales from the plant exceed €2bn a year, and are exported to 90 countries across the globe.
