26-May-2010
AMRI is reducing its US workforce 10 per cent and halting operations in one R&D lab at its facility in Rensselaer, New York as “softness” in the domestic market continues beyond its expectations.
The US job cuts, the second set the firm has made in the last 12 months , will affect around 80 positions, some of which are currently vacant, and are expected to generate cost savings of $4m (€3.2m) this year.
AMRI said the move is part of a shift in geographical focus that will see it invest around $30m in its operations in Asia and create 180 jobs at its operations in Singapore and India over the next few years.
CEO Thomas D’Ambra explained that increased customer focus on cost of services “has led to a continued shift in demand for AMRI’s services from the US to lower cost resources in Asia and Europe.”
He added that: “While we remain cautiously optimistic about a return in demand for contract research outsourcing by the biopharmaceutical industry, softness in the US market has extended beyond our expectations.”
This idea fits with comments made by spokesperson Andrea Schulz who told Outsourcing-Pharma earlier this month that: “continued soft demand from our US specialty pharma... customers” had caused a 9 per cent drop in Q1 revenue.
http://www.outsourcing-pharma.com/Contract-Manufacturing/AMRI-cuts-US-workforce-10-and-creates-180-jobs-in-Asia?nocount