Novartis Reverses Plant Closure In Switzerland
13 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // January 17th, 2012 // 10:56 am
Nearly three months of sustained pressure has prompted Novartis to change its corporate mind and abandon plans to close a plant in Vaud, Switzerland, a step that will save about 320 jobs. At the same time, the drugmaker will elminate fewer than the 760 jobs that were originally to have been cut at a chemical plant in Basel.
The move comes in response to demonstrations by Novartis workers, protests from local politicians and, in one case, a publicized boycott of Novartis medicines by a doctor in Switzerland (see here), where the drugmaker is headquartered and residents were unnerved by the extent of the planned job cuts. Until recently, Novartis employees in other countries have borne the brunt of widespread layoffs.
Last week, the drugmaker disclosed plans to axe 1,630 US sales reps and another 360 positions from its US headquarters in New Jersey in response to a failed clinical trial for a hypertension med (read here). Another 900 jobs were trimmed last fall from the US and, in 2010, the drugmaker slashed 1,400 US sales reps and another 550 jobs at a manufacturing site in the UK (back story).
But plans announced last fall to eliminate 1,100 jobs from Switzerland caused an uproar, especially since of the work was to have been outsourced to China and India. Unlike in other countries, though, Novartis has given in to public outcry. Although what apparently helped the drugmaker to reverse course are some temporary tax breaks issued by the local government in Vaud, where an investment will be made to modernize the plant.
In a statement, the drugmaker says that all personnel, however, will forego some of their salary increases this year and those covered by a collective bargaining agreement will see their working hours reduced (here is the statement).
As part of the change of heart, Novartis will now redeploy about one third of the 760 employees who work at the Basel plant, and a spin off of the toxicology group is also being pursued. Meanwhile, the drugmaker maintains it will study proposals about the restructuring at the Nyon and Basel plants that were proposed by unions representing its workers. Novartis employs around 12,500 in Switzerland.
keiner
“those covered by a collective bargaining agreement will see their working hours reduced”
No, actually they will get their working hours increased from 37.5 h to 40 h.
http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/wirtschaft/aktuell/novartis_baut_in_der_schweiz_weniger_stellen_ab_als_geplant_1.14381608.html
original industry insider
Congratulations to the Occupy Novartians and their patron saint of modern anarchy, Noam Chomsky. You have won the battle but you are mere foot soldiers in the war of Big Pharma attrition that no one, even the most ardent Chomskyites can escape.
http://sourcepowered.net/occupy-novartis-job-cuts-to-be-protested
Former Marketing Exec
Would that the Americans about to lose their jobs in NJ would put up the same fight - Is it like Americans to just lay down and be steamrolled over? Maybe they have been feeding them anti empathy pills in the office coffee mill?
Just saying, why where’s the angst? Lets see the Angst!
keiner
@former market
Maybe it has to with the fact that it is a PRODUCTION site, not advertise staff, running arround, nobody wants to see?
dzieczko
Not enough USA born citizens employed as permanent employees at location in NJ.
USA NJ location USED to be a manufacturing site - best in the world at one time…
Searching2000
@ Former Marketing Exec:
If memory serves me correctly (and after 30-35 years, it may not), the employees of ‘Hoffman LaRoche’ in Nutley who were let go in the late 70’s after Valium went off patent, put up a full front battle because they had been promised “employment for life” in the employee handbook. That lead to a class action ….aided and abeted by former Roche employees who migrated over to the then ITT Avionics in Nutley … and to the entire body of “employment at will” law.
Hence the term “regualr, full-time employees with benefirs” rather than ‘permanent employess” - I laugh very hard when someone calls about “a permanent job.”
So at any rate, we are LONG over that here - sadly but truly, we are.
dzieczko
@Searching 2000 - thanks for the interesting bit of history.
Now that corporations are people, confidentiality agreements and who *owns* the discovery of an employee need to be re-visted, it seems. Especially when money=speech…
Divorce cases could provide useful guidance for who in the relationship was a “regular, full-time employees with benefits”
(tongue in cheek)
original industry insider
Searching, a former boss of mine, a brilliant MD,PhD researcher was laid off in the Roche downsizing you referred to, either that one specifically or one in the mid 1980’s. It was a blatant example of age discrimination (my boss was in his 40’s), and led to a massive class action lawsuit against the company that the employees won. It was a landmark case that every law student learns if they are taking up employee law.
Drug company legal staffs went to school on the Roche case to the extent that they have fashioned policies that make it virtually impossible these days for a fired employee to claim age discrimination.
stewart
Searching 2000…SPERLING, ET AL v HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE, INC - FindLaw
caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&case=/data2/circs/3r…
Sperling claims Hoffmann-La Roche engaged in age discrimination against all … To ensure that all potential plaintiffs would receive notice of the suit, Sperling …
stewart
original industry insider..was Stephen G Sudovar president of Roche at that time and was John Ridely of Drinker Biddle and Reath the attorney of record?
original industry insider
Sorry, Stewart, don’t know who were the people involved.
Searching2000
@Stewart - my recollections would be from the early 80’s - prior to SGS. The offical book on Mr Sudovar says he “held senior management and related cross functional positions at Hoffmann La Roche from 1988 to 1999, including President of its Roche Laboratories division.”
Basel lair
Novartis has become one of the most disliked (to use the mildest term) company almost everywhere. Even the Swiss who odored both Sandoz and Ciba/Geigy have turned against this company that they do not regard as true Swiss entity. It has changed so much from traditional Swiss Co so the people must have risen more than usuall against the latest insult, thus Novartis back paddled to save what little reputation it has left amongst the locals.
Remember the first cleaning of the house after the merger in 1996. Visited Basel HG and had few wonderful ***** meals in their world famous Co restaurants (yes restaurants not cafeterias.While there I could not see anyone with gray hair or on the older side. Was told everyone over 50 was gone. The locals were shocked but still believed in their company. No longer this is the case and yet Vasella still manages to hang in there and collects his base take of some 35 mill.Sf. plus who knows what else. Talking about &^&^%$ everyone all of the time.