Fears for Élan jobs in Athlone were compounded this week with the news that the company is to shed 29 jobs over the next month.
The Athlone plant is seeking 29 voluntary redundancies following the loss of a contract with pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly for the manufacture of duloxetine, after the American company decided to manufacture the drug in-house.
The cuts bring to 119 the number of workers who have lost jobs at the Athlone plant this year. In February Élan shed 115 jobs in Ireland, 90 of which were at the ‘fill finish’ operation at the Athlone facility.
Staff were met with the bad news at a meeting with management on Monday this week.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the company confirmed that it had “officially advised employees that it is to seek 29 redundancies at its Élan Drug Technologies (EDT ) facility in Athlone as a direct result of a decision taken by Eli Lilly to bring the manufacturing of duloxetine in-house where it has sufficient capacity to meet the demand for this product from 2010 onwards".
The company hopes to achieve the redundancies through a voluntary programme over the next month and said it is “committed to working with employees during this period of transition”.
Speaking following the jobs blow, mayor of Athlone Mark Cooney expressed his regret at the news, particularly in the wake of last week’s decision by American medical firm Abiomed to roll back on their plans to bring 250 jobs to Athlone.
“It is most regrettable that the jobs are to be lost, but unfortunately it is down to outside factors. I hope there will not be any more redundancies in Élan or in other local companies, particularly as it emerged last week that jobs promised for Athlone are not now to emerge,” said Cllr Cooney.
Local TD Mary O’Rourke said she was saddened to hear the news. “It is very sad and I am really concerned about the job losses. I understand that Eli Lilly had contracted Élan to make the drug and have developed the technology to do it themselves. It is not the fault of management or workers.
“I hope other drug companies will continue to look to Élan to manufacture drugs in their excellent facilities in Athlone,” she added.
Meanwhile Labour spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment and local TD, Willie Penrose, described the cuts as another blow for a region that has already suffered significant job losses over the past 12 months.
“These job losses come on the same day that the CSO has published figures showing that the numbers on the live register have exceeded 400,000 for the first time ever. The numbers on the live register are clearly heading for 500,000 as job losses are announced on a daily basis and the construction industry continues to face severe difficulties.
“Between July 2008 and July of this year the numbers on the live register increased by 69 per cent in Athlone and 64 per cent in Mullingar. The region simply cannot afford to sustain job losses on this scale and the Government must request the industrial development agencies to make the area a priority for investment and job creation,” said Deputy Penrose.
