Some 300 Merck & Co. staffers’ jobs are on the cutting board after the company confirmed plans to shutter its Cherokee manufacturing plant.
Merck aims to mothball production at the facility in Danville, Pennsylvania, sometime in 2024, the company told Fierce Pharma in an emailed statement. The facility manufactures nonsterile imipenem and cilastatin for the antibiotics Primaxin/Tienam and Recarbrio, plus ertapenem sodium for Invanz, a Merck spokesperson said.
After the site shuts down, Merck will continue to make Primaxin/Tienam and Recarbrio using its existing active pharmaceutical ingredient production network.
“We will start discontinuation of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing in 2024 which will lead to the ultimate closure of the Cherokee manufacturing site,” the spokesperson said. “Currently, we do not know the ultimate disposition of the site.”
The decision will ultimately affect about 300 full-time jobs, with separations set to occur in phases “over a number of years,” the company said. No separations linked to the closure are expected in 2022, Merck added.
Merck emphasized that “the decision to cease operations is no reflection of the performance of our Cherokee employees.”
Merck says it will assist employees at the site and provide separation benefits. Meanwhile, Cherokee employees will have the chance to apply for other positions at Merck with “internal job transfer timing managed to ensure continued operation of the site.”
Merck has a headcount of about 14,000 in Pennsylvania, where the company has invested more than $3 billion into its vaccine and drug production operations.