Business

Newry pharma giant Norbrook to lay off 180 staff

Norbrook is planning to make 180 staff redundant in Newry
Norbrook is planning to make 180 staff redundant in Newry

NEWRY pharma giant Norbrook is making 180 workers redundant as part of what it says are “significant changes in its operating environment”.

The company, a world-leading provider of veterinary pharmaceuticals for the health of farm and companion animals, told shocked staff of its move on Wednesday afternoon.

Management at Norbrook - which was established in 1969 by the late Lord Ballyedmond (Eddie Haughey) - blamed global economic challenges and increased competition.

It is understood all the job losses will be across its three sites in Newry, which will come as a hammer blow to the city's economy.

In a statement Norbrook said: “We recognise this is a difficult time for employees, but the decision has been taken after exhausting other options and to best position the company to return to growth as the market stabilises.

“We are currently exploring ways to minimise the need for compulsory redundancies, which will include offering voluntary redundancy packages, and we will enter into a period of consultation with our employees.”

In its last full trading year the company had sales of £232 million and generated an operating profit of £20.2 million.

Its chairman and chief executive Liam Nagle said: “In response to higher sales predictions, Norbrook invested over £10 million in the current financial year, primarily in increased headcount that would support increased manufacturing and product release.

“But in the past year, a challenging global economic environment, together with increased competition in the animal health sector, has impacted on our ability to achieve anticipated sales growth.

“We have taken a number of actions to address these challenges but, regrettably, the actions taken to date are not enough and we have had to make the difficult decision to reduce our headcount.”

Mr Nagle added: “This decision has been taken to best position the company for the future and enable a return to growth as the market stabilises.

“Going forward, the animal health sector is still a significant market globally and we have demonstrated our ability to manufacture, test and release products in 2023, and we have many reasons to be confident about future growth.

“However, these actions are necessary in the current environment in order to build a sustainable business for the long-term future.”

Norbrook said that in what was a “satisfactory” 2002 it made a capital investment of £15 million, representing 6 per cent of revenue, bringing the total invested in the last seven years to £90 million.