Pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer is cutting 100 jobs at its Newbridge plant in Kildare as part of a global response to the collapse in sales of its Paxlovid Covid antiviral medicine.
However the company also announced that it was adding 230 new jobs to two other Irish pants – Grange Castle n Dublin and Ringaskiddy in Co Cork. The Grange Castle jobs are understood to be in addition to the 400-500 jobs over five years announced last December as part of a $1 billion investment to expand that plant.
Vaccine sales are now expected to be 15 per cent weaker than previously projected this year, while the company has marked expected antiviral sales down to just $1 billion from $8 billion, in large part due to stock being returned by the US government. At that time, the group announced that it would embark on a cost-cutting programme to save $3.5 billion in annual sales.