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Novartis shuts plant in Canada cutting 300 jobs

pharmafile | December 16, 2013 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Sales and Marketing Canada, Novartis, Ontario, cuts, lens, manufacturing 

Novartis is shutting down its manufacturing plant in Canada which will result in 300 people losing their jobs at the Ciba Vision facility in Mississauga, Ontario. 

The plant manufactures contact lens solution and whilst this production will soon be transferred to a plant in Fort Worth Texas, the workers will not.

Mark Smithyes who is the head of government affairs and market access for Alcon Canada – a division of Novartis – said: “The reason for the closure is that we’re continuously reviewing and adapting our manufacturing to reflect the changing market dynamics and enhance our competitiveness.”

The plant has been in the suburb west of Toronto since the early 1980s. Speaking to a local newspaper one employee said the news was a shock, saying that when workers were told of the news in November, they believed there would be some layoffs but did not expect to learn that Novartis would abandon the plant completely.

Novartis paid almost $50 billion for Alcon in a three-step buyout several years ago. It was one of the diversification plans of the then-Novartis chief executive Daniel Vasella.

Now under the direction of chairman Joerg Reinhardt the firm is clearly looking for savings through different measures, such as these layoffs in Canada.

Smithyes added: “We feel that by optimising our global manufacturing operations, we can improve productivity, reduce the complexity and free up resources for reinvestment in growth areas of our business in future technologies.”  

The plant will start winding down its operations in May with the full closing slated for the end of 2014. At the same time, it said it will be ramping up capacity at its Fort Worth, Texas facility and increasing production.

Brett Wells

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