The decision to close the Sudocrem manufacturing plant in Baldoyle is “devastating news” for the 110 affected employees and their families, the Tánaiste and Minister for Employment, Leo Varadkar, has said.
Mr Varadkar said his thoughts are with those whose jobs are to be cut by the end of 2022, as the company transfers its manufacturing operations to Bulgaria. “I know this must be an incredibly worrying time, especially given everything that’s happened over the past year,” he added.
Mr Varadkar welcomed the commitment by Teva Pharmaceuticals, which has owned Sudocrem since 2016, to maintain a “strong presence” in Ireland. The company said its respiratory manufacturing plant in Waterford will remain, as will its commercial activities. The Minister said he is also glad that Teva has said it will do everything it can to support employees of the north Dublin plant.
“I want workers to know that the Government will also make all necessary State assistance available to them,” he said. There will be a cross-departmental effort to help the workers find new employment, education and training opportunities “as soon as possible”, Mr Varadkar added.
The announcement by Teva Pharmaceuticals comes several months after another large company announced it would move its operations away from Baldoyle. Viatris, a global healthcare company, confirmed last December that its two-year wind down of operations in the area would lead to the loss of 440 local jobs.
Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Bay North, Denise Mitchell, said the announcement comes as another “huge blow” to the local community and economy.
“This is devastating for the 110 employees who are losing their jobs. The Sudocrem plant has been operating in Baldoyle for decades,” she said.
Ms Mitchell said efforts “must to be made to restore employment to this area, which has been devastated by recent losses”.
Fingal County councillor Joan Hopkins, of the Social Democrats, said her heart “goes out to everyone getting this news today”, while local Fianna Fáil councillor Daryl Barron said it was a “sad day for the area”. “We need to work with the staff to support them in the coming year to help them and to look at the potential of the current facility,” he added.
The nappy-rash cream was created in 1931 by Thomas Smith, a professor of pharmacy in Dublin. Sudocrem has been produced in Baldoyle since the 1940s and has been a household staple in Ireland for 90 years. It is now available in more than 40 countries with an estimated 34.5 million pots sold each year.
