Amgen to buy Pfizer plant – 280 jobs saved

In some very good news for the Irish jobs sector, pharma company Amgen has today announced it is to buy Pfizer’s manufacturing facility at Dun Laoghaire.

The 37,000-sq-m Pfizer aseptic operations facility employs 280 people and the buyer intends to retain employees and expand the site’s capabilities over time.

About 240 employees will transfer to Amgen while another 40 will remain employed by Pfizer as part of the deal.

“As we expand internationally, the Dublin site will help us deliver a growing supply of Amgen medicines for patients worldwide,” said Madhu Balachandran, senior vice president, Amgen Manufacturing.

“We are impressed with the technical expertise and commitment to excellence demonstrated by the employees who work at the Dun Laoghaire site and look forward to welcoming them to Amgen’s global manufacturing team.”

The investment is backed by IDA Ireland. Pfizer had been looking to sell the facility instead of just shutting it down as part of its cost-cutting measures announced last year.

The pharma giant continues to explore opportunities to divest its Loughbeg and Shanbally plants in Cork.

Amgen has conducted commercial operations in Ireland since 2000 and employs about 25 staff members at its offices in North County Dublin.