Up to 44 employees at Roche may lose their jobs

Some 44 employees at the Roche pharmaceutical company in Rotkreuz could lose their jobs as a result of restructuring.
 
At present 2,431 people work at the Roche site in Rotkreuz, almost half of them in research and development, which is currently being re-structured to form a new global unit. According to company spokeswoman Cornelia Erschen, it was while this process was under way that elements of job duplication were discovered, affecting some 44 staff. The company is looking to see if they might be deployed in other areas but, if this is not the case, they will be made redundant.
 
News of the possible redundancies was announced last week as staff were being informed about the setting-up of the new Integration and Services System business unit, which will come into effect on Monday 1 August. However, the company promised it would lend its support to those employees affected; these work mainly in the areas of software engineering, project management and system integration.
 
No date by which the redundancies will take affect has yet been fixed, as consultations are still ongoing.
 
Participating in these talks with the employers are members of the Roche Employees’ Association, but no members of trade unions as each employee signs an individual contract with the company.
 
Despite this news, the company remains committed to investing in its Rotkreuz site (photograph). At the beginning of next year, a further 400 employees are expected to move into a new, six-storey office building.
 
The Roche company, which is considered to be the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world, employs a staff of more than 90,000. Other sites across the globe where the company conducts research and development activities include Sant Cugat near Barcelona, Berlin, Waiblingen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and Pleasanton in California.