AstraZeneca PLC Employees from Shuttered Facility Could be Relocated to Delaware
May 9, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
WILMINGTON, Del. – Although there were initially concerns about AstraZeneca ’s restructuring plan’s impact on operations in Delaware, new rumors are suggesting the state may actually be a beneficiary of the restructuring, with new employees coming to the area.
Citing the administrative executive of New Castle County in Delaware, DelawareOnline reported this morning the planned pink slips from the restructuring appear to be aimed at a Pennsylvania facility, possibly the Fort Washington plant, which houses a unit focused on discovering emerging treatments for diabetes, DelawareOnline said. That property is leased, while AstraZeneca owns its facilities in Delaware.
Some of those positions from the shuttered facility could be shifted to AstraZeneca sites in Delaware, New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon said, citing conversations between state officials and AstraZeneca. Gordon said the company will be moving employees to Delaware, although how many are unknown. DelawareOnline said. London-based AstraZeneca has not formally announced where the cuts will be made. However, Paul Hudson, president of AstraZeneca's U.S. operations, touted the company’s commitment to Delaware last week.
"Creating an even more vibrant work environment that furthers our evolving culture of innovation and collaboration, while staying in the state we've proudly called home allows us to leverage our legacy and continue building new capabilities for the future," Hudson said, according to DelawareOnline.
Pascal Soirot, chief executive officer of London-based AstraZeneca, announced the company was undergoing a restructuring plan to net savings of about $1.1 billion by the end of 2017. The restructuring plan will involve a $1.5 billion one-off restructuring charge, with total restructuring charges expected to be $2.4 billion through the end of 2017. Most of the cuts will be outside of Britain and primarily in sales and manufacturing operations, DelawareOnline reported earlier this month. Last year the pharma company terminated a number of employees at its U.S. headquarters in Fairfax, Del. as part of previous cost-cutting measures. There are about 2,100 AstraZeneca employees in Delaware, but about 10 years ago, AstraZeneca employed about 5,000 in Delaware. In addition to the layoffs in Delaware, AstraZeneca also reduced its physical footprint, selling off or tearing down several facilities, DelawareOnline said.
AstraZeneca’s latest job cuts were announced in the wake of sagging earnings and stiffer competition, particularly for its ulcer drug Nexium and COPD drug Symbicort. AstraZeneca said sales for Nexium were down about 24 percent during the first quarter and sales for Symbicort were down about 7 percent. The company’s popular anti-cholesterol drug Crestor saw sales drop about 2 percent as well. Sales for Crestor could continue to drop as it will begin to face generic competition this month.