GlaxoSmithKline cutting manufacturing jobs at Barnard Castle site in U.K.

GlaxoSmithKline will cut jobs at its Barnard Castle manufacturing site in the U.K., despite having plowed money into expanding it in the past two years.

Without providing specifics, a GSK spokesperson said the company was proposing changes “that might affect employees,” following a strategic review of the site.

“This is subject to appropriate consultation and no decisions have been made. We will continue to support those affected by the news and will consult with them and their representatives.”

Citing unnamed employees, The Northern Echo put the number of cuts at 200 at the facility that currently employs about 1,300.

RELATED: GlaxoSmithKline revamp to cost hundreds of U.K. manufacturing jobs

This comes despite expansion projects there. Last July, GlaxoSmithKline said Barnard was among three U.K. sites that would share £140 million in investments in the next three years as it increased production of treatments for HIV and asthma. But it also warned that it intended to cut back on its cephalosporins antibiotics business, some of which is produced there.

“Over the past two years, we have announced a number of investments at our Barnard Castle site, all of which are progressing to plan,” GSK said in an emailed statement. “As a supplier of medicines to patients around the world, GSK Barnard Castle remains key to our global manufacturing network.”

RELATED: GlaxoSmithKline bulks up in OTC after all, handing Novartis $13B for its JV stake

The announcement last summer came as the drugmaker also said it would unload some marginal businesses and make other cuts that would cost about 320 manufacturing jobs in its home country over a three-year span. In addition, the company canceled plans to build a new biologics plant there that would have resulted in about 500 new jobs.

GSK has made number of strategic moves since Emma Walmsley became CEO last year.