Bayer to combine East Coast ops in NJ

Bayer HealthCare gave New Jersey a boost with its decision to consolidate East Coast operations there. The move will keep 1,000 jobs in the state and add up to 500 more, according to an announcement from Governor Chris Christie. And to house all those workers, Bayer is looking at a now-vacant office complex in Mount Olive, NJ, once occupied by BASF, along with several other locations.

The former BASF facilities comprise almost 1 million square feet of space, and could accommodate Bayer workers now spread among three New Jersey townships: Wayne, Morristown and Montville. The company would move its Tarrytown, NY, operations to the centralized headquarters as well. No word yet on which other sites are in the running.

The consolidation is part of Bayer's worldwide streamlining, which includes net job cuts of around 2,000 off a global workforce of more than 100,000. New Jersey's economic development officials worked hard to keep the German company's operations, offering $21 million in funding from its Business Employment Incentive Program and another $14.1 million from a business retention and relocation grant.

The 500 jobs new to New Jersey will include an estimated 300 moved from New York, along with 200 newly created positions, officials said. "We are very excited about the prospect of having a new site and facility that can house East Coast-based Bayer HealthCare employees from every division and function under one roof,'' Mark Trudeau, president and CEO of Bayer Healthcare said in a statement. "New Jersey is home to many bio-pharmaceutical and health care companies, and we look forward to benefiting  from the many resources and opportunities available to us in the state.''

- read the release from Bayer
- see the release from Gov. Christie's office
- check out the Philadelphia Inquirer's coverage
- get more from The Record