Sandoz India’s Turbhe plant to down shutters by December 2016
Less than a week after Sandoz, the generic division of Novartis, announced that it would discontinue operations at its Turbhe site by end December 2016, another MNC, Pfizer India announced the closure of its manufacturing facility at Thane, two months from today, from September 16, 2015.
According to Pfizer India spokesperson, the Thane plant was commissioned in the 1960s, manufacturing medicines for both domestic and international markets but there has been ‘practically been no production activity at this plant since 2013’. Hence closure of the site would not impact supply of Pfizer India’s medicines.
Both plant closures are a consolidation of manufacturing facilities, with the shutting down of older facilities and re-direction to more modern facilities, with Pfizer India’s statement attributing the decision to ‘an assessment of its long term viability and its ability to achieve the needed production.’
132 of the 212 Pfizer India workmen at the Thane plant had already taken up the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) offered by the company and the statement indicated that the remaining 80 workmen who continued to receive full wages despite plant inactivity, would also receive requisite compensation as mandated by law.
While the close down process is in the final stages at Pfizer India’s Thane facility, Sandoz’ July 10 announcement is the beginning of the process at its Turbhe plant, which employs 170 associates and manufactures antibiotics and APIs.
“We made the announcement (on July 10) to ensure our associates are informed as soon as possible about our decisions and to ensure a transparent process,” said Vivek Devaraj, Sandoz Country Head in India. He said the company was “committed to managing the process with the utmost care, sensitivity and respect for all impacted associates at Turbhe, to supporting our customers through the transition and to meeting patient needs for access to important medicines.” Manufacturing would now focus at its other sites which employ over 1,300 associates and produce over three billion tablets and 180 tonnes of API annually.”
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