MSD won't close Irish sites as part of $3bn cutbacks

MSD employs more than 3,000 people at eight separate locations in Ireland

Pharmaceutical giant MSD is slashing $3bn (€2.59bn) from its annual spending as part of global job cut but said it will not be closing any of its Irish sites. 

Pharmaceutical giant MSD is slashing $3bn (€2.59bn) from its annual spending as part of global job cut but said it will not be closing any of its Irish sites. 

MSD yesterday announced a global cost-cutting exercise as it prepares for generic competition to its Irish-manufactured cancer drug Keytruda, the world's best-selling medicine, which is predominantly made in Ireland.

The company will cut administrative, sales and research jobs, with increased focus on the US market. It has not said where the roles will be lost or if any Irish workers will be among those affected. However, a spokesperson told the Irish Examiner: "The restructuring announced today does not include site closures in Ireland."

Irish locations 

MSD employs more than 3,000 people at eight locations in Ireland. 

These include MSD Brinny in Co Cork specialising in development and manufacture of innovative novel vaccines and testing of immuno-oncology medicines; three facilities in Dublin (MSD Biotech, MSD Blackrock, and MSD Red Oak North); MSD Carlow; MSD Dunboyne in Co Meath; MSD Ballydine in Co Tipperary, the company's first Irish site; and MSD Dundalk, the former WuXi Vaccines sites acquired in January.

The cost cuts will include $1.7bn (€1.47bn) in annual savings from the elimination of certain administrative, sales and R&D positions, MSD said.

The company expects the restructuring to be completed by the end of 2027, the year before Keytruda’s key patents expire and the drug faces US government price cuts. The company said it plans to reinvest the savings into developing new drugs and launching new products.

EU-branded medicines will face 15% import tariffs under the new transatlantic trade deal agreed between the European bloc and the US at the weekend.  

Like many other pharmaceutical firms based in Ireland, MSD had stockpiled doses of Keytruda manufactured in Ireland, to protect itself from tariffs imposed in 2025. MSD previously disclosed plans to invest more than $9bn (€7.78bn) in US manufacturing over the next four years, part of an effort to make more of its medicines in the US.

The company reiterated that it expects to spend $200m (€172m) on tariffs in 2025, a number that reflects levies already in place and doesn’t account for future tariffs on pharmaceuticals.