To increaseThe pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline invested 200 million $ in 2006 and 2007 to increase and modernize its installations in the capital.
Photographic library Sun, Patrice Laroche
(Quebec) There is less than three years, the pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) invested nearly 200 million $ to increase the production capacity of vaccines of its factory located in the technological Park of metropolitan Quebec. Today, uncertainty is with its roof among the 750 employees.
Since the end of October, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals - the division of GSK which manufactures vaccines - abolished between 90 to 120 stations in Quebec. GSK Biologicals whose seat is in Belgium also put the key in the different door of sound machines production in Quebec, that of Laval, which caused the suppression of 144 employment.
“One expects worst in the next weeks”, entrusts Sebastien Boies, president of local section 3783 of the Canadian Trade union of the public office (SCFP-FTQ) which summarizes the frame of mind of the trade unionists of the factory of Quebec who, according to him, never saw coming the blow.
“Nobody can about which foot dance. The employer did not present any guarantee to us to the effect that there will not be other dismissals”, indicated Mr. Boies during a discussion with the Sun.
“Uncertainty is so large that employees who are not aimed by the settings at foot started to leave GSK of their own boss, it announced.
“In Quebec, fortunately, the labour market in the sector biopharmaceutic is very good by times which run with the emergence of several young people biotechs. That enables us to believe that the people who lost their employment will be able to obtain another in a relatively brought closer future from them.”
GSK Biologicals, the regional management of Employment-Quebec and the trade union collaborate narrowly in the operation of reclassification of the personnel laid off.
According to Sebastien Drink, the cuts affect all the departments of the factory which used, until very recently, nearly 1000 people in peak period. “The most touched are people who worked on the line production, i.e. technicians of laboratory, technicians of production, clerks and employees of production.”
To remain competing
Thursday, at GSK Biogicals, nobody was able to comment on of sharp voice the decision taken at the end of October and which did not make noise in the majority of the media. Only radio station CHOI had made of it mention a few months ago. GSK Biologicals rather forwarded an official statement to the Sun explaining the reasons leading to the rationalization of its production activities in Quebec without saying a word on the future of its production centre.
The company explains that the decision to close the factory of Laval and to repatriate the whole of the production to its installations of Quebec - all while imposing a reducing treatment to him - was the fruit “of an closer examination of its production activities in Quebec”.
The decision aimed “at tightening its competitiveness and its effectiveness” in order to make it possible the company to continue to be “competing in the particularly difficult market of the vaccines against the seasonal flu in which the world provisioning increased considerably”.
While investing nearly 200 million $ in 2006 and 2007 to increase and modernize its installations in the capital, GSK Biologicals tripled its production capacity of vaccines against the seasonal flu and the pandemic influenza which passed to 75 million amounts by year. That enabled him to fill its engagements towards various governments, mainly those of Canada and the United States, for the provisioning of vaccines.
“The sales were not as high as envisaged, explains Sebastien Boies. According to the abundant data by the employer, one would speak rather about 30 to 35 million sold amounts. In a fragile economic context as that which one knows it at present, it is possible to think that the purchase of vaccines against the influenza does not constitute the priority of the governments.”
According to the president of local section 3783, it would be very little probable that GSK Biologicals chose to rationalize its activities in Quebec for if required transferring the production to its other manufacturing plant from vaccines in Germany.
GlaxoSmithKline had put the feet at Quebec in December 2005 while becoming purchaser of ID Biomédical which employed, at the time, 200 people.
All in the same launch
GlaxoSmithKline. Pfizer. Bristol-Myers Squibb. Merck. These world giants all of the drug company are in the same launch. That of the reduction of their costs of operation.
The patents of drugs expiring their, competition coming from the generic products, the increasingly rare discoveries of new drugs and the generalized fall of the sales are as many phenomena which give an evil of block strong to the large pharmaceutical laboratories.
Without counting competition. A study undertaken by firm ZS Associates revealed recently that the number of salesmen of drugs had doubled during the seven last years in the United States whereas the number of doctors had increased only by 15% during the same period. What makes so that a doctor can meet to 20 representatives of different medicinal products during the same day!
While deciding to rationalize its production activities of vaccines in Quebec, GlaxoSmithKline (100 000 employees) fits in a wind of continuity. Factories already closed their doors in Belgium, France and Great Britain.
To the United States, GSK comes to announce the elimination of 1000 stations in its team of sale, that is to say 12% of its commercial force. In the hope to save 1 billion $US from here 2012, Bristol-Myers Squibb (41 000 employees) will stripe chart 4300 employment. For its part, Merck (60 000 employees) wants to remove 7200 from here 2011 of them. And Pfizer (100 000 employees) aimed at dividing 10.000 stations in 2008.
hat-tip Muscade
No comments:
Post a Comment