Oh, Canada… Pharma Is Taking Some Jobs Away
January 12th, 2012 // 1:35 pm @ jmpickett
We all know that emerging markets in Asia, for instance, are hot, especially when it comes to opening new manufacturing plants and research facilities. But Canada is not among them. So it may not come as a surprise that two of the largest drugmakers are shrinking their ranks there. Over the last 36 hours, both Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson disclosed plans to layoff numerous employees.
In Montreal, Johnson & Johnson is closing its R&D center in March, which will put 126 people out of work, including 36 employees and another 90 who were hired by outside contractors. These folks are technicians, engineers and support staff working on feminine-hygiene products made at the adjacent manufacturing plant, according to The Montreal Gazette.
Sanofi, meanwhile, is eliminating approximately 100 positions from facilities in and around Montreal and Toronto, according to The Globe and Mail. The drugmaker employees about 1,700 people across Canada, but did not specify exactly where the cuts will be made. The move comes, however, not long after Sanofi bought Genzyme and made plans to slash $2.9 billion in expenses.
