AstraZeneca Job Cuts

A year and a day after Pfizer announced the loss of thousands of R&D jobs in the UK, AstraZeneca today announced that they would be starting a new programme of restructuring which will impact around 7300 positions. Of these, 2200 will be in R&D – primarily from ending R&D at the Södertälje (Sweden) site, and closure of the Montreal (Canada) site. A further 1350 will be in Operations – which covers supply chain/manufacturing activities.

There are unofficial reports that while the majority of cuts are overseas, UK sites will not escape unscathed. The numbers suggested remain sizable – and official figures from the AZ press office will hopefully be published here shortly.

Most of the R&D restructure is being made in neuroscience – and AZ plan to create a “virtual” neuroscience unit of 40-50 scientists based in Boston (US) and Cambridge (UK). The latter location is mentioned in the press release as a neuroscience hub, and is where Pfizer established Neusentis last year to combine research in pain, sensory disorders and regenerative medicines.

Overall, the restructuring is expected to save $1.6bn/year. To increase shareholder value, AZ announced they would aim for net share repurchases of $4.5bn in 2012 – on top of the $5.6bn in 2011 – and the board has recommended an increase in dividend, increasing the full year dividend by 10%.

Good luck to everyone involved, and know that while this can be a difficult time, there are opportunities out there.

Finally, I'd recommend visiting Chemjobber, who blogs about chemistry news and job postings in the US. He’s also collating oral histories from those affected by chemical industry layoffs – these include advice regarding support, finances and job seeking experiences by real scientists that have been in the same position.

Shell site closure

Just over two weeks into the year, and the first large round of chemistry job cuts have been announced in the UK. The Guardian broke the news yesterday that the Shell Technology Centre in Thornton, Cheshire, will be closed in 2014, with the loss of around 280 jobs.

R&D efforts will instead be concentrated in Hamburg, Germany and other overseas sites. There could also be relocation of some staff to other UK sites, including London and Manchester.

Local newspaper the Chester Chronicle had already reported in May last year that the site was earmarked for closure, saying “Shell assembled the 500-strong workforce in a marquee on the car park ... to explain the shutting of the laboratory”. At the time, 200 jobs were thought to be at risk and “speculation is half the workforce will go within two years.” The latest announcement confirms the fate of those remaining.

A job advert from the archives of New Scientist indicates that the Thornton Research Centre (as it was known then) employed around 700 people in 1988. At the time, the advert was also able to specify the chemists, physicists and mechanical engineers be aged 24-30 – something unthinkable now.

According to the UK corporate website, the R&D centre “has a large community of scientists involved in a wide range of research projects, including technologies associated with fuels, lubricants, additives, engineering and the environment.” Good luck to you all.

Novartis make large cuts in Horsham

It was reported yesterday that Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis intends to dramatically cut back operations at its Horsham campus. This could lead to the loss of 550 jobs from the 950 Novartis FTEs that work at the site. Apologies for the lack of primary source, but the news has made it on to the BBC website, so it must be true (!)

It is proposed that pharmaceutical manufacturing operations will close in Horsham, along with the partial closure of the global development site there. This is anticipated to take place over a 2-year period. It has been recommended that the gastro-intestinal research team be moved to Basel and Cambridge, and Over The Counter operations to (or near to) Frimley.

The respiratory research group – with 330 FTEs – and support functions will remain at the site. The company will also maintain its manufacturing facilities in Grimsby, Liverpool and Dundee.

According to the 2010 R&D Scoreboard - published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - Novartis Pharmaceuticals had the 10^th highest UK R&D investment of 129 pharma and biotech companies in 2009/10, at £90m. This is in the same league as Amgen and Eli Lilly (~£130m each), but some way behind Pfizer (4^th, at £326m) and GSK and AZ (1^st at £3.6bn and 2^nd at £2.7bn). Of all companies investing in R&D in the UK, they were ranked 47.*

*Caveats and definitions can be found in the BIS report

Pfizer to exit Sandwich

It’s with considerable sadness that the first major UK chemistry job cuts of the year have been announced. In their Financial Guidance and 2010 Results press release, Pfizer today announced they will be exiting the Sandwich, Kent site by 2012.

According to the UK Pfizer website, 3600 staff are based at the site – 2700 of whom work in R&D. Given the reference to PGM on this page it’s likely these figures are somewhat dated (Manufacturing vacated Sandwich in 2007, with the loss of 420 jobs). The local and national press are quoting a figure of 2400 employees - which may not include all the contractor supporting functions on-site.

The move will provide some of the $1.5bn cost savings to reduce Pfizer’s forecasted R&D spend in 2012 from $8 to $8.5bn down to $6.5 to $7bn. To further increase shareholder value, Pfizer also announced they would repurchase ~$5bn of stock, which is not expected to constrain their ability to continue dividend increases. By lunchtime, PFE shares were up over 5%.

While Pfizer, Kent County Council and a Local Enterprise Partnership pursue options for investment at the site by other companies, a significant number of scientists will be leaving the area. Some will pursue new opportunities, while others will make the decision to stay in chemistry. Over the next few weeks, LabMonkey will be looking into the former, and asks for your help with the latter.

If you know of any available positions at your company - or would like to share job adverts that you find with others - then please email me with the details and I’ll list them here. Good luck to all.