Pfizer to keep 100 workers after review

Pfizer has confirmed that a change in work practices and an upsurge in workload means it is not going to press ahead with 100 of the 130 redundancies it had flagged one of its Cork plants two years ago.

In 2012, it emerged that the company was planning 130 job losses at its Ringaskiddy facility after one of its biggest-selling drugs, the cholesterol-reducing Lipitor, had come off patent. However, a spokeswoman yesterday confirmed Pfizer had decided not to proceed with 100 of the redundancies.

“This is due to a change in manufacturing volumes, and also due to significant changes in how the site operates which have delivered much greater competitiveness,” she said. “A significant proportion of manufacturing in Ringaskiddy is in post-patent medicines — those that have faced patent expiration.