Pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer looks set to cut 400 jobs at one of the company’s UK factories.
Pfizer said the losses were necessary because its acquisition of drugs company Pharmacia in 2003 meant it no longer needed so many staff.
The jobs will go over several years, the company said, but this would not mean the end of research and development work at the factory in Sandwich, Kent.
Pfizer also announced plans to sell its plant in Morpeth, Northumberland, where 571 people work. However, a spokesman for Pfizer said they did not expect any redundancies as a result.
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“These decisions are in no way a reflection of the hard work, loyalty and commitment of our Sandwich and Morpeth manufacturing teams,” Tony Maddaluna, vice-president of Pfizer global manufacturing told the BBC.
“Rather, they are a direct result of the fact-based evaluation process carried out since the Pharmacia acquisition, which has highlighted that the capacity provided by these operations is not required.”
