Sandoz cuts 65 jobs in first stage of Colorado plant closure

By Dan Stanton

- Last updated on GMT

GettyImages/chiarabramuzzo
GettyImages/chiarabramuzzo

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The first round of job cuts at a solid oral dose facility in Broomfield, Colorado earmarked for closure has taken place, says Novartis subsidiary Sandoz.

In October 2017​, Sandoz said it was closing its small molecule oral solid dose facility located in Broomfield, around 20km north of Denver.

And in a Worker Readjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN)​ filed with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment last week, the firm announced the first phase of redundancies with 65 jobs set to go by the first week of April.

Novartis announced last year that it will consolidate its generic solids commercial production in the US to the Wilson, NC site and close commercial production operations at the Broomfield, CO site,”​ a Sandoz spokesperson told this publication.

 “As part of this decision, the first wave of this planned phased closure took place [on February 6] with approximately 60 employees being notified that they will be laid off.”

Around 450 jobs will be affected by the time the plant closes within the next 18 months, though some employees as well as commercial production of a number of generic solids will be transferred to Sandoz’s Wilson, North Carolina facility.

This decision was based on what resources are needed to meet patient demand, as well as what skills are needed to transfer Broomfield’s remaining products to Wilson.”

Approximately 50% of the products made at Broomfield will be divested or discontinued, as they are viewed as “no longer competitive in saturated markets,” ​the firm said last year.  

“They show limited growth, are expensive to make, and are in a highly competitive market where other treatment options exist. Combined with increasing pricing pressures in the US, it is not profitable to continue making these products,”​ as spokesperson told this publication in October.

Despite the Broomfield closure, Novartis says it is committed to the US market where it employs more than 23,000 people across 24 sites.

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