Drug giant Wyeth cuts 10% of Sanford plant work force

SANFORD, N.C. — Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is laying off some 10 percent of its 1,200-person  work force at its massive vaccine manufacturing plant.

The 124 job cuts did not come as a total surprise, however. Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) informed employees in September that some job cuts could be made.

Also on Tuesday, Wyeth said it would lay off more than 170 workers at two plants in New York State as well as other locations.

“We announced earlier this year that we had a goal of reducing our work force by 6 percent by year’s end, and we are on track to do that,” Wyeth spokesperson Doug Petkus told WRAL.com. The company has some 50,000 employees.

The 124 cuts in Sanford covered “a number of job functions,” he said.

While the Wyeth facility and vaccines in general are important to the company, Wyeth would not rule out future reductions.

“We don’t like to project,” he said of layoffs, “but we also have said that we are looking to have a global work force reduction of 10 percent over the next couple of years," he added, “but [the Sanford site] is an important site for us and we are committed to the site.”

Wyeth utilizes the 325,000-square-foot plant primarily to make components for its pediatric vaccine Prevnar, which targets pneumococcal bacteria.

Like other pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, which is cutting jobs at its production plant in Zebulon, Wyeth is facing increasing global competition.

“This response is part of an overall global strategy announced by Wyeth in January (and) designed to position the company for future growth and continued success,” Petkus explained in a September interview. “This includes initiatives to improve operating efficiency and effectiveness.”

Wyeth has operated in Sanford for two decades.