Layoffs are expected to begin in February, according to reports.
A Merck subsidiary will eliminate up to 50 positions in North Carolina’s Queen City. Layoffs are expected to begin in February, according to reports.
On Friday, The Charlotte Observer reported Merck filed a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) notice with the state of North Carolina announcing the job cuts. The company is vacating a service center in the southern part of the city, the Observer reported. According to the report, Merck is “discontinuing a global controllers unit,” which will lead to the job cuts, including eight human resources positions. There will be a number of human resources employees at the Merck, Sharpe & Dohme Corp.’s Charlotte Service Center who will be transferred to another Merck facility, the Charlotte Business Journal reported.
Some employees will have the opportunity to move to another Merck location in Charlotte, the Observer said.
Why Merck is shuttering that facility is unknown at this time. In an interview with the Journal, Terry J. Lee, vice president of state affairs and policy at Merck, provided no reason for the closure. Citing a letter written to the N.C. Department of Commerce, Lee said the closure and layoffs are expected to be permanent, the Journal said.
“While some employees working in the unit may transfer to other Merck sites, approximately 50 employees will likely experience an employment loss as a result of the discontinuation of the unit,” Lee wrote in the letter, according to the Journal.
In October, pharma giant Merck announced plans to cut up to 1,800 sales positions. Those cuts came as the company initiates a new structure for the sales team. BioSpace previously noted that the cuts will primarily come from sales positions focused on primary care, disease-focused endocrinology and hospital chronic care. The goal of those layoffs is “to better support changes in our business in the United States,” Claire Gillespie, a Merck spokeswoman said, according to reports.
“These changes are part of ongoing companywide efforts to sharpen Merck’s focus on innovative R&D that addresses significant unmet medical needs and on our best opportunities for growth, while reducing overall costs,” Gillespie added.
Since Ken Frazier took over the reins of Kenilworth, N.J.-based Merck six years ago, he has strived to streamline the company’s operations
While Merck has shaved off thousands of jobs since Frazier took over, the company has also added a significant amount of positions in R&D and manufacturing. The company has been building new laboratory sites in Cambridge, Mass. as well as a new hub in San Francisco.
