400 jobs are safe
THE future of Hoddesdon pharmaceutical giant Merck Sharp and Dohme - and the 400-plus workers there - has been safeguarded.
Bosses ruled out its closure and announced plans to develop it into a "global centre of excellence".
The company, a feature of the town since the 1950s, will NOT be a casualty of a massive restructuring by US parent firm Merck & Co Inc.
Instead the site, which is home to MSD's UK headquarters, will be developed into an international base for organic and synthetic chemistry research.
There are currently 440 people employed at Hoddesdon, although 10 could go in the company shake-up.
But just down the road in Harlow, 260 jobs will disappear as the company's neuroscience research centre, Terlings Park, is shut down.
Sixty jobs will also go at the company's chemical plant at Ponders End in Enfield, as the firm scales down its manufacturing operations at that plant, ready for complete closure by 2007.
The restructuring is part of a worldwide £2.3bn cost-saving programme by Merck, which will see workforce slashed by 7,000 - 11 per cent.
Shares in the medical giant have plummeted since it withdrew its painkiller drug Vioxx from sale last year in the face of mounting health concerns. Merck is now facing lawsuits from thousands of Vioxx users who claim the drug caused heart attacks and strokes.
MSD managing director Vincent Lawton said Hoddesdon would be at the heart of the firm's restructured UK operations.
"The recent investment to establish a new global centre of excellence in chemistry at Hoddesdon, to serve the needs of Merck's organics and synthetic chemistry organisation, will be completed in spring 2006," he said.
"The new science centre at Hoddesdon is confirmed as a strategic site within the Merck global network."
Reflecting on the overall changes at the company, Mr Lawton acknowledged that many of his employees faced "difficult times", but said support would be there for those affected.
"I know we have some of the best employees in the country and I hope we can work together to restore the company to top-tier growth and continue to focus our resources where we deliver the best results," he said.
Bosses ruled out its closure and announced plans to develop it into a "global centre of excellence".
The company, a feature of the town since the 1950s, will NOT be a casualty of a massive restructuring by US parent firm Merck & Co Inc.
Instead the site, which is home to MSD's UK headquarters, will be developed into an international base for organic and synthetic chemistry research.
There are currently 440 people employed at Hoddesdon, although 10 could go in the company shake-up.
But just down the road in Harlow, 260 jobs will disappear as the company's neuroscience research centre, Terlings Park, is shut down.
Sixty jobs will also go at the company's chemical plant at Ponders End in Enfield, as the firm scales down its manufacturing operations at that plant, ready for complete closure by 2007.
The restructuring is part of a worldwide £2.3bn cost-saving programme by Merck, which will see workforce slashed by 7,000 - 11 per cent.
Shares in the medical giant have plummeted since it withdrew its painkiller drug Vioxx from sale last year in the face of mounting health concerns. Merck is now facing lawsuits from thousands of Vioxx users who claim the drug caused heart attacks and strokes.
MSD managing director Vincent Lawton said Hoddesdon would be at the heart of the firm's restructured UK operations.
"The recent investment to establish a new global centre of excellence in chemistry at Hoddesdon, to serve the needs of Merck's organics and synthetic chemistry organisation, will be completed in spring 2006," he said.
"The new science centre at Hoddesdon is confirmed as a strategic site within the Merck global network."
Reflecting on the overall changes at the company, Mr Lawton acknowledged that many of his employees faced "difficult times", but said support would be there for those affected.
"I know we have some of the best employees in the country and I hope we can work together to restore the company to top-tier growth and continue to focus our resources where we deliver the best results," he said.
posted by Chris Placitella at 6:36 AM
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