Sanofi ($SNY) has started the closure of its drug manufacturing plant in Kansas City, MO, but will not completely close up shop until August 2016, four years later than originally planned.
The company tells The Kansas City Star that layoffs will occur about every 6 months beginning with the loss of 112 jobs June 1. There are 337 workers currently.
In 2008, the company, formerly Sanofi-Aventis, put the plant on the market because growth in demand for its products didn't justify keeping it. After a year on the market without a buyer, the French company decided to close it in a €1.2 billion ($1.56 billion) cost-reduction effort that also included plants in Dagenham, U.K., and Textitlan, Mexico. It also said at the time that the plant would be shuttered this year.
The 36-year-old plant manufactures Allegra and other solid-dose medications. It used to be considered one of the company's key manufacturing facilities. The company still has operations in St. Louis, MO, where its packaging division is headquartered.
- read the Kansas City Star story