The Elan Corporation is to lay off 250 workers at its pharmaceutical plant in Athlone and an additional 80 people will be made redundant at the company's two operation sites in Dublin at Lincoln House and Trinity College. The company has a total workforce of 900 between Athlone and Dublin.
Elan is reducing its research and development department in Athlone from 160 workers to less than 20. 30 people will loose their jobs at Elan's headquarters in Lincoln Place, while 50 people who are involved in a research and development programme at Trinity College will be made redundant.
The company has also confirmed that it will not be proceeding with an expansion plan for Macroom in Co Cork.
Executive Vice President Seamus Mulligan also confirmed that Elan will consider the sale of the entire manufacturing facility in Athlone if an appropriate offer is forthcoming from another pharmaceutical company.
Earlier Elan said it was cutting a total of 1,000 jobs from its global workforce of 4,700.
The cuts are part of a recovery plan through which the troubled company hopes to save around $300m a year. The review was carried out by the company's new chairman Garo Armen, who took over from Donal Geaney after his resignation earlier this month.
Elan is also planning to raise around $1 billion in the next nine months and a further $500m by the end of 2003, by disposing of assets, non-core businesses and products.
The company has also decided not to go ahead with an option to buy certain dermatology products from GlaxoSmithKline for around $180m.
Elan says the aim of the plan is to create a biopharmaceutical company focusing on neurology, pain and autoimmune, which it says are areas of substantial growth potential.
It expects to file four new drug applications by the end of 2004 and has bought royalty rights to Antegren and some other products from Autoimmune for a net cost of $82.5m.
The company is aiming to record a profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the 18-month period to the end of 2003 and believes it has enough cash and other resources to meet its needs.
News of the recovery plan came as Elan reported net losses of $802m for the second quarter of this year on revenues of $456.1m, a drop of $5m on the same period a year earlier.
The losses were the result of charges of $826.6m linked to falls in the value of investments and asset writedowns.
Elan shares closed 15 cent lower at €2 in Dublin this evening.
