Catalent Pharma Solutions says the demand for products at its plant in Swindon, U.K., is "changing," and so it is reducing head count there by nearly four dozen employees.
The 158,000-square-foot plant makes Catalent's Zydis quick-dissolve tablets and employs about 500. The company also recently set up a chemistry, manufacturing and control lab services unit at the site. The company decided it needed to cut 45 jobs after first eliminating temporary positions at the facility, the company told the Swindon Advertiser in a statement. A Catalent spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment, but the statement says the company is working with employees on the reductions.
"After implementing other measures, including the removal of temporary positions, Catalent has announced that it will be reducing its headcount by 45 permanent roles and has entered into consultation talks with employees through its Employee Forum regarding the need for restructuring at the facility."
It is not the first reduction there. Catalent cut 50 jobs at the facility in 2010 as part of an effort to trim staffing by 275 company-wide, the Advertiser reported. It also is not the only pharma company that has reduced or altered its presence in Swindon this year; CMO Patheon ($PTI) announced in May that it will gradually wind down production at its plant there. Patheon tried in vain to sell the facility and now plans to get what it can out of the plant over the next couple of years before transferring all of its capacity to other locations.
While it is making cuts in the U.K., Catalent is sniffing out business in new markets. The Somerset, NJ, company has teamed up with South Korea's CTC Bio to attract South Korean clients looking to market solid oral dose and controlled-release products in the U.S. and Europe. That partnership aims to marry CTC's drug-delivery expertise with Catalent's formulation know-how and manufacturing network, ideally providing South Korean drugmakers with access to global markets.
- read the Swindon Advertiser story
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