Pfizer to shut shop at Chennai, Aurangabad units, 1700 employees in lurch

New Delhi: For more than 60 years of commercial and manufacturing presence in India, drug major Pfizer recently decided to shut down its manufacturing units in Chennai with 1000 employees and Aurangabad with 700 employees respectively. The decision was taken due to a very significant long-term loss of product demand. The closure is expected to impact nearly 1,700 workers.

The company's Irungattukottai unit in Tamil Nadu currently employs approximately 1,000 workers and Maharashtra's Aurangabad site employs approximately 700. The exact timing of the exit of these sites is yet to be determined, the firm said.

The recommendation to exit both the sites are the result of significant loss of product demand, making manufacturing at these sites unviable, the company said.

"Pfizer has conducted a thorough evaluation of the IKKT (Irungattukottai) and Aurangabad sites and concluded that due to the very significant long-term loss of product demand, manufacturing at these sites is not viable.

As a result, both sites will immediately cease manufacturing with the intention to exit as soon as possible in 2019. The exact timing of the exit is to be determined," a Pfizer spokesperson said. Both plants are purely export-oriented sites and do not supply products for Pfizer's India commercial operations, it said.

Also Read: GSK, Pfizer to Merge Consumer Healthcare units