Pfizer to cut 270 jobs at Brooklyn factory
by Catherine TymkiwFebruary 01, 2006
Pfizer Inc. plans to cut 270 jobs at its Brooklyn manufacturing plant in anticipation of lower sales for several drugs that are made there.
Pfizer Inc. plans to cut 270 jobs at its Brooklyn manufacturing plant in anticipation of lower sales for several drugs that are made there.
The Brooklyn plant employs 990. About 110 jobs will be eliminated later this month, with the remaining 160 to be phased out later this year.
The reductions at the Brooklyn plant span a range of manufacturing jobs and are part of a global three-year initiative to bring capacity in line with actual output, said Pfizer spokesman Bryant Haskins. The drug maker has already divested about two dozen plants since the initiative started, he said.
Pfizer products face increasing competition from generic drug makers when their patents expire. ''Even though we've experienced product growth across Pfizer, several products manufactured or packaged at Brooklyn are going off patent so we expect to see volumes decline,'' said Mr. Haskins.
Diflucan, Zithromax, Zoloft, Norvasc and Zyrtec are among products that have lost or will lose patent exclusivity in the next couple of years, Mr. Haskins said. ''In the end, it will end up with cost savings because the plant will be more efficient,'' he said.
Manufacturing accounts for about 33,000 of Pfizer's 115,000-person workforce.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said he was saddened by the layoffs but optimistic about the future. "The good news is that the Brooklyn facility continues to be open and it is my hope that in the days ahead new drugs will be discovered that will be appropriate for the Brooklyn plant to produce,'' he said in an emailed statement.