Five thousand working for Pfizer after takeover

More than 5,000 people across the Republic were working for giant pharmaceutical company Pfizer today after a multibillion-dollar takeover of Wyeth was approved.

The firm has become the biggest foreign direct investment employer in the country, operating plants at 13 locations around the country.

It is not yet known if any jobs will be lost as a result of the deal.

Paul Duffy, of Pfizer Ireland, said the $68bn merger creates a company poised to be a leading biopharmaceutical company in a new era.

He said: “The breadth and range of the new Pfizer business is well reflected in our Irish footprint, which represents major capital and human resource investments by both companies over a large number of years.”

Pfizer is one of the longest-established multinational pharmaceutical players in Ireland, opening its first plant 40 years ago.

Employing 2,000 people in Cork and Dublin, it is best known for manufacturing vaccines and medicines, such as Viagra, which are exported worldwide.

Wyeth, which specialises in animal and human health products, has 3,000 employees in Dublin, Sligo, Limerick and Kildare.

The deal, first announced earlier this year, was closed yesterday after approval from competition authorities.