In a press release published this Wednesday, Novartis announced that it will invest 40 million euros in its Puurs site this year in order to expand its production capacities for biological products. An investment intended to “strengthen the competitiveness of the site and respond to changing production needs”, specifies the press release.
In doing so, management announces that it wants to make production “more competitive”, “while responding to the challenges of increasing unit costs and changing production needs”. It is possible that 192 jobs could be affected, of which 170 could be lost, including temporary workers.
The unions and management have already started the information and consultation phase on Wednesday, in accordance with the Renault law on collective redundancies. “We are committed to working closely with our social partners in a constructive and transparent dialogue,” promises Novartis. “We will keep our employees informed every step of the way. We will do everything we can to save some jobs. We will also support our employees with their mental health and well-being during this period of uncertainty.”
In Puurs, around 1,160 people currently work for Novartis.
In Belgium, the Basel-based company employs a total of 1,750 workers at three sites: the production site in Puurs, the headquarters in Vilvoorde and the EU relations office in Brussels.
