Geneva,25.04.2012

Merck-Serono to shut down Swiss HQ

The German Merck pharmaceutical and chemical company has announced job losses of 1,300 in Switzerland. The headquarters of its Merck Serono arm in Geneva will close down completely with the company's Swiss market to be managed from Zug.
 
Of the 1250 employees in Geneva, 500 will lose their jobs with the remaining 750 relocated elsewhere. Furthermore, the company announced that there would be additional job losses at its production sites in the canton of Wallis.
 
The company intends to control its operations in future from Darmstadt in the German state of Hesse, with the research activity previously done in Geneva also to be conducted from there, or indeed from Boston or Peking. However, the company's Swiss operations will be controlled from Zug.
 
Some 130 jobs relating to production currently in Geneva, and a further 80 similar jobs in Coinsins in the canton of Wallis, will now be transferred to Aubonne in the canton of Vaud.
 
The company announced that it intended to start its restructuring in the second half of this year, with completion in the first half of 2013. Dismissed employees would be given support in finding other jobs and a social package would also be worked out. In addition, the company would be setting aside CHF 30 million to set up other companies.
 
Merck acquired the Genevan Serono bio-tech company from the Bertarelli family (of Alinghi yacht fame) some 5 years ago.
 
In a reaction to the news, the Interpharma Association, representing the pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland, said, "The closing of Merck Serono's HQ in Geneva is a setback for research in Switzerland and it shows how urgent it is for the Swiss Federal Council to work out a revitalisation master plan as called for by the industry."
 
The association of pharmaceutical companies engaged in research in Switzerland received the news of the job losses and the partial pull-out of Merck-Serono, the third largest pharmaceutical company in Switzerland, with great sadness.
 
It appears the decision of the German parent company was taken in connection with current price pressure and disappointments in the research pipeline.
 
François Naef, the chairman of the board at Merck-Serono, who is also the president of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, was very disappointed at the news but accepted it was not really possible to maintain two headquarters in Europe, especially against a background of increasing prices for research and development.