After Novartis tagged its plant in Grimsby, England, for closure back in 2018, the company encountered unexpected higher demand for two medicines and had to temporarily keep the site operational. But now Novartis has officially offloaded the site.
Novartis has sold the plant to a subsidiary of International Process Plants, which specializes in redeveloping closed manufacturing sites, the company said in a release. More than 200 workers will soon get the chop as the new owners have not opted to take on the Novartis staff.
The 212 employees at the site have already been working on borrowed time. In 2018, the company announced plans to close the facility at the end of 2020 as part of a cost-cutting effort.
By May 2020, those plans changed to maintain operations through the end of 2022 due to “increasing demand for two products,” site head Ian Johnson said at the time. The demand was predicted to run through the fourth quarter of 2022.
Novartis says it will continue manufacturing in Grimsby until later this year, before a site clean-up. The company will formally transfer the site to the new owners by late 2023.
The Swiss drugmaker notified the staff of the sale at a Monday meeting. The company will work with the employees to determine their final date of employment.
"It is now our priority and commitment to support our staff, alongside the local community, throughout the upcoming consultation and transition process," Johnson said in a statement.
The site ran continuously for 71 years and is estimated to contribute around $32.5 million to its local workforce yearly, Endpoints News reports. It comprises 229-acres of land, 35 of which Novartis will gift to North East Lincolnshire as part of an “environmental legacy.”
The plant sale comes as Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan moves forward with a global reorganization that's set to cost "thousands" of employees their jobs, a company spokesperson said in April.