Pfizer is slated to shut down two plants in North Carolina after slashing guidance.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer confirmed it will be closing down two of its facilities in North Carolina amid a cost-cutting initiative after it revealed that sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and other products would see a drop.
The company told multiple local media outlets that it would be closing its sites in Durham and Morrisville, saying the closures are part of an effort “to operate more efficiently and effectively.”
“As part of this effort, Pfizer has decided to close the Kit Creek facility in Morrisville … and the Durham Clinical Manufacturing Facility,” the company said, according to the Triangle Business Journal. “Pfizer continues to operate its largest North Carolina facilities, including two in Sanford and one in Rocky Mount.”
It’s not clear how many workers would be impacted or laid off. The Epoch Times has contacted the company for comment Monday.
“All job-related decisions will be made with transparency, compassion, and respect, and in compliance with applicable laws,” Pfizer told the News & Observer publication. And any employee who is impacted by the closures will be offered a “generous separation package,” Pfizer told ABC11 TV, or will be given the chance to apply for another position.
Morrisville Mayor T.J. Cawley suggested that some workers might be laid off, according to the paper. Multiple Pfizer employees who had worked at the two North Carolina facilities listed the hashtag OpenToWork on their LinkedIn profiles in recent days.
“Overall, I think our area is pretty well buffered from the economic downtown,” the mayor said. “Talent will always move around from company to company. We have such a strong talent pool that companies will keep coming here.”
Before the closures were confirmed by the company, a number of unnamed Pfizer workers complained on social media that they would be getting laid off soon amid the company’s cost-cutting scheme. Posts alleged that Pfizer officials held a live stream with thousands of workers to announce the cuts earlier in October.
Pfizer told Newsweek about a week ago that “we updated our plans last Friday in this release” and that “we are prepared to launch an enterprise-wide cost improvement program aligned with the longer-term revenue projections for our business. Details of this program will be shared over the coming months and as part of the full-year guidance for 2024.” Other details were not provided.
