US pharmaceutical giant Merck, which employs over 400 people in Ireland, has announced plans to cut around 7,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2008. It will also close or sell five of its 31 manufacturing plants.
A statement from the company said that the job cuts announced today will not affect its Ballydine site in Co Tipperary. Last month, the company agreed with employees to make 60 voluntary redundancies.
'We are fully committed to ensuring that the Ballydine operation is positioned to continue to compete for new products and remains a key site for the production of important medicines for the company,' commented Tony Musiol, plant manager.
Merck said the global restructuring would cost between $1.8 billion and $2.2 billion, but would lead to total savings of up to €4 billion from 2006 through 2010. Merck employs 63,000 people around the world.
Company officials said the cuts represent the first phase of a global restructuring programme designed to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and enhance competitiveness.
The worldwide job cuts represent about 11% of the company's workforce. About half of the reductions are expected in the US, with no specifics about jobs in other countries.
Merck has been struggling since announcing the withdrawal of its blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx last year after studies linked the treatment to heart problems. The $2.5 a year seller was taken by more than 20 million people worldwide before its abrupt withdrawal in September last year.
In addition to the thousands of lawsuits in the US, Merck has been deluged with lawsuits around the world. A study sponsored by the US Food and Drug Administration estimated that Vioxx could have caused 27,785 heart attacks or deaths since it was approved in 1999.
In February, an FDA panel determined that Vioxx did cause possible cardiovascular problems but narrowly voted to allow its return to the market.
In August, the Texas jury ordered Merck to pay more than $253m to the widow of a 59-year-old triathlete who died in May 2001 from heart failure after using Vioxx to treat hand pain. But Merck prevailed in a separate lawsuit in New Jersey earlier this month. The company has pledged to fight the cases individually.
