ASTRA ZENECA FACES RESISTANCE TO JOB CUTS

With expiring patents undercutting revenues, the pharmaceutical industry has shed hundreds of thousands of jobs worldwide. And while it is always an unpleasant process, it is probably hardest when a company has to cut jobs on its home turf.

In the case of AstraZeneca, which last week announced plans to eliminate 7,300 jobs while increasing its dividend to shareholders, resistance is brewing at R&D and manufacturing facilities in the U.K. Citing the damage the jobs losses will have to the U.K. economy, union leaders have vowed to resist cuts there.

“If the company can afford a 10 percent hike in its dividends, then it can afford to retain these roles,” Linda McCulloch, a national labor leader, told the Manchester Evening News. The newspaper said between 250 and 350 jobs reportedly would be lost from the R&D department at Alderley Park, as much as 10% of the workforce of 3,500. There has been no announcement regarding Macclesfield, the group`s second-largest manufacturing site with around 2,600 staff.

Source: http://www.fiercepharmamanufacturing.com/story/astrazeneca-faces-resistance-job-cuts-home-turf/2012-02-06