Ireland ‘too costly’ as 785 jobs to go

AS almost 800 of Ireland’s 5,000 Pfizer employees contemplate being forced on to the dole queue, the company’s head of Irish operations has warned Ireland cannot continue to be the most expensive environment in which the pharmaceutical company is operating.

The company yesterday announced it was reducing its global workforce by 6,000, or 18%, of which up to 785 will come from the closure of two plants in Cork, one in Dún Laoghaire and the downsizing of its operation in Newbridge.

The pharmaceutical company’s decision to make the jobs purge is mainly due to its $68 billion acquisition of former rival Wyeth last October.