US PHARMACEUTICAL giant Pfizer yesterday confirmed that it would cut its workforce in Cork by 177 in response to a fall in demand for its leading anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor, which has come off patent in the US and is currently coming off patent in Europe.
Pfizer management met staff yesterday at its plants in Ringaskiddy, where 500 people are employed, and Little Island, which has a workforce of 220, to brief them on the 177 job cuts, which will take effect from next year.
Pfizer vice-president Paul Duffy said the job cuts were in response to a reduction in the volumes of medicines being manufactured at both sites and, in particular, to the patent expiry on Lipitor.
He said Pfizer would continue to produce the active ingredient for Lipitor at the Little Island plant for export to its tableting plants in Germany and Puerto Rico following the closure of its tableting plant at Loughbeg in Cork this year.
The closure of the Loughbeg plant in 2012, with the loss of 200 jobs, was previously flagged in 2010, when Pfizer announced it was putting its plants at Loughbeg and Shanbally in Cork up for sale as part of an earlier restructuring.
“Pfizer has been preparing for patent expiration for a considerable time. Patent expiry means greater competition, which impacts global demand, and we need to readjust the scale of our manufacturing operations.”
Pfizer site leader at Little Island and Ringaskiddy, Seamus Fives, said it had been a difficult decision to cut numbers at both plants, but the expiry of patents on Lipitor and other medicines meant demand was reducing as generic competition kicked in. The company had to reduce manufacturing costs, he said.
“Within the Pfizer global manufacturing network, Ireland competes with much lower cost manufacturing locations, and continuous focus upon competitiveness is critical for the future.”
Lipitor has been the world’s leading-selling medicine, and has been manufactured for global supply from Ireland. However patent expiry began in the US last year, and it continues in Europe throughout 2012.
Dr Duffy stressed that Pfizer remained committed to its Irish operations. “Sites in Ireland have very recently been successful in securing the manufacture of four new Pfizer medicines – two for cancer, one for osteoporosis and one for rheumatoid arthritis.”
Siptu, which represents about half the staff at the two sites, met management after the briefings.
“We understand the company is preparing to reduce the workforce in Ringaskiddy by 129 and Little Island by 46,” said Siptu sector organiser Alan O’Leary. “These job losses result from the expiry of the patent on Lipitor, which is produced at the Little Island plant, and dramatically reduced volumes at the Ringaskiddy plant.”
