Pharmaceutical giant plans 1,000 jobs in €650m Cork investment

UP TO 1,000 jobs are expected to be created in Cork following yesterday's announcement of a €650 million investment by pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson.

Some 330 hi-tech jobs will be created at a plant in Ringaskiddy with a spin-off of at least 660 more ancillary jobs in the services and construction industry.

IDA Ireland South West director Mary Buckley said the rule of thumb is that for each new hi-tech job there is a spin-off of two other jobs.

"We would expect that at least in this case and the spin-off can be even higher in the biotechnology industry bringing it up to around 1,000 jobs in total," she said.

The 330 biopharmaceutical jobs announced yesterday will be created by a Johnson and Johnson subsidiary, Centocor, over the next five years. Their new Ringaskiddy plant will produce medicines that will treat arthritis, infectious diseases and carry out clinical trials that could find a cure for cancer and AIDS.

"This is the biggest investment in Cork for many years and the second-biggest investment announced by the IDA so far this year," said Tánaiste Mary Harney. "It is a major coup for the country."

Ireland has once again beaten off stiff competition to secure this investment, which will prove pivotal to the country becoming the number one global location in the biopharmaceutical sector, said Ms Harney.

The majority of the workers at the new Centocor plant will be science graduates and hold primary, masters or doctorate degrees. The starting salaries will be around €37,000 and range up to €80,000.

The Ringaskiddy plant will add to the 1,300 workers Johnson and Johnson already employs here.

Centocor divisional president Robert J Sheroff said the company's long-term experience in Ireland was a major factor in the move.

Mr Sheroff said it has only scratched the surface of the enormous, life-changing potential that the field of biomedicine offers the human race. Previously unimaginable treatments for immune system disorders and infectious diseases are treating hundreds of thousands of patients.

"And cures for cancer, AIDS and Alzheimer's - to name but a few - are no longer dreams; they can be seen on the horizon," he said.

A further 20 research and development jobs were also announced by Ms Harney yesterday in Cork at the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

It is investing €34m in developing a medicine which will treat inflammation and nerve pain together for the first time.

Meanwhile, a €7m investment in the new National Institute for Networking and Electronics Research at UCC was also announced by Ms Harney in Cork.

However, the Government was last night accused of ignoring Macroom, which lost 670 jobs at the GSI semi-conductor plant three years ago. Local people are still waiting for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to honour his pre-general election pledge to find up to 300 replacement jobs.

"Macroom people were extremely annoyed at being ignored by the Government in the jobs share-out - they have left us down again," said Lee Valley Enterprise Board chairman Gerry Gray.

Responding to criticism, Ms Harney's spokesman said: "Finding a replacement industry for Macroom still remains a priority but we cannot dictate to companies where they locate and the Centocor project was secured against intense competition."

The spokesman for the Taoiseach said he could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.