ALMOST 50 jobs are to be cut at a Belfast medicine distribution company.
It has been confirmed that 48 jobs will go at the Sangers-AAH warehouse on Marshalls Road in east Belfast.
The firm, which delivers in excess of 100,000 pharmaceutical products a day to high street chemists across the north, said the redundancies are a result of the completion of the merger between Sangers and AHH Pharmaceuticals, agreed in 2016.
In a statement yesterday the company said that as a result of work to amalgamate systems of the two companies and centralise processes it would be removing the equivalent of 48 full-time roles "across all areas" of the business.
"We retain our commitment to a local workforce that can provide a great service to our customers in Northern Ireland," the statement read.
"Our colleagues have been told and indications are that we will be able to achieve this number through voluntary redundancy. Nevertheless, it is an unsettling time for people and we will try and complete this work as quickly as possible."
The Unite trade union, which represents around 200 staff, said it will work to avoid compulsory job-losses at Sanges-AAH.
Unite regional officer, George Brash added:
“While we remain optimistic that the redundancies confirmed today can be met on a voluntary basis, meaning compulsory redundancies can be avoided, this is still a net loss of forty-eight jobs to the Northern Ireland economy.
"It also substantively increases the dependence of the entire pharmacy sector on one major distributor. We will want to see assurances that the terms and conditions of our members are upheld throughout the process."
AAH is the largest community pharmacy network in the UK and employs around 21,000 people. Delivering over 15 million items per week to more than 14,000 pharmacies and other organisations it is the largest pharmaceutical wholesaler within the UK and operates from 15 distribution centres, including Belfast.
