Question mark over jobs at GSK

Oct 4 2008 by Karen Dent, The Journal

A QUESTION mark is hanging over the future of jobs at drugs firm GlaxoSmithKline’s Barnard Castle factory as part of cost-cutting which has already cut 300 jobs in the North.

The company, which has 1,050 staff in the plant and is the County Durham town’s biggest employer, has confirmed it has begun a three-month review concentrating on staffing levels, structure and cost-cutting.

The investigation will also look into how the site, which manufactures a range of medicines and plays a key role in the launch of new GSK products, can win new business.

Glaxo announced it would be making savings at the plant a year ago as it tries to save £700m company-wide by 2010. It is cutting 300 jobs at Ulverston in Cumbria where numbers had already been reduced from 1,000 to 540 since 2002.

Its acting site director in Barnard Castle, Adrian Lowes, said: “This action plan is not a reflection on the site’s performance, however in changing markets we have to make sure we can compete in the future. Barnard Castle is an important site in the GSK manufacturing network and will continue to focus on its role in developing, introducing and supplying to customers and patients worldwide.”

The company said it was likely the review would result in a proposal to reduce staff numbers. But company spokesman Paul Stinson said it was impossible to say how many people may be affected or how large a cost saving the site was expected to make.

“The review will be looking to ensure the site is in a competitive position for the future and until the review is complete, we are not able to determine the numbers that might be involved,” he said.

GSK is aiming to complete the consultation by the end of the year, with any redundancies likely to be in the first half of next year. It said the any proposal to cut jobs would be subject to consultation with unions.

Bob Bolam, a regional officer with Unite with responsibility for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, said: “We would like to maintain as many jobs as possible on the site and hope that Barnard Castle will continue to be an important part of GlaxoSmithKline. It is a main employer in the Barnard Castle area.”

The world’s second-biggest drugmaker, which employs around 100,000 people in more than 100 countries, GSK has been cutting thousands of jobs globally as it tries to see off the challenge from makers of cheaper, generic drugs.