Merck is planning layoffs in Pennsylvania as part of a multi-year plan to wind down operations at a manufacturing plant in the state.
The pharma giant will cut 163 jobs at its Cherokee manufacturing plant in Riverside, Pennsylvania, through three rounds of cuts, according to a state notice that cites a site closure as the reason for the workforce reduction.
The first set of layoffs is scheduled to occur in May, with the second round taking effect in late June through July and the final round set for “sometime in 2026,” according to the notice.
Merck has been planning to phase out the antibiotics manufacturing plant for several years. The site previously produced nonsterile imipenem and cilastatin for the antibiotics Primaxin/Tienam and Recarbrio, plus ertapenem sodium for Invanz.
Now that production at the facility has ended, a permanent site closure is expected "sometime in 2026," a company representative confirmed in an emailed statement.
"Separations related to this closure will begin in May 2025, and we are committed to assisting and supporting employees at the site through this transition and providing separation benefits," the spokesperson said.
Last year, the local newspaper The Daily Item reported that Merck employed 300 people at the site, making it one of the area's largest employers.
The drugmaker’s roots in the area stretch back decades. In 2010, Merck bought back the plant after selling it to a contract manufacturer in 2008. Prior to the plant sale, the company had operated the site for 58 years.
Merck has an overall Pennsylvania headcount of some 14,000 staffers and "remains committed" to the state with over $3 billion invested in its state-wide manufacturing operations to date, the company's spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, over in the Carolinas, the company is busy building out its Durham, North Carolina, campus with the addition of a $1 billion, 225,000-square-foot manufacturing plant that will produce bulk substance for Merck's Gardasil HPV vaccine.
Merck has spent a total of more than $12 billion in expanding its U.S. manufacturing and R&D capabilities since 2018, with another $8 billion earmarked for U.S. capital investment through 2028.