Drugs firm jobs hang in balance

Mar 8 2008 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

THE jobs of 65 workers at a drugs company are hanging in the balance after its Danish owner put its North East operation up for sale.

Staff at Lundbeck’s Seal Sands site on Teesside have been told they could face redundancy if the firm is unable to find a buyer to take on the facilities and the workforce.

The company, which researches new drugs for various disorders including depression and schizophrenia, said it had already attracted interest from prospective buyers.

Operations director Peter Trickett said: “The company is actively looking for a buyer at present. Regarding timing, no final decision has been made so it is difficult to be precise, however, we have notified the Seal Sands employees that they are at risk of redundancy and a formal consultation process has started with employee representatives.

“No redundancies will be made before April 7. At this point in time we are looking for a buyer who would be interested both in the site and taking on the existing workforce – we are approaching other chemical and pharmaceutical companies both in Europe and other continents.”

Mr Trickett also said there had been no voluntary redundancies so far at the company as it is only in the “formal consultation” stage with staff at the moment.

Lundbeck said it plans to streamline the production processes of one of its pharmaceutical products. making Seal Sands surplus to requirements.

Dr Stan Higgins, chief executive of the North East Process Industries Cluster, said yesterday was “a sad day for the pharmaceutical industry” but added that he expected all workers to find employment in the region’s process sector should they be made redundant.

He also said there is a lot of interest in the North East’s process industry at the moment and that he is confident that a buyer for the site will be found.

In 2001 Lundbeck opened its £40m factory at Seal Sands which was developed by the North regional arm of building services company Shepherd Engineering Services.