Viatris cutting jobs, to close Morgantown plant next July
Viatris Inc. is downsizing its workforce and physical operations.
The pharmaceuticals company, a merger of Mylan and Upjohn, has announced on its website that it is reducing its global workforce by 20% and will close Mylan’s former manufacturing plant in Morgantown, W.Va.
It is not known how the cuts will affect the workforce at Viatris’ corporate center in Southpointe II, where Mylan had its administrative headquarters.
The Morgantown facility, where oral medications are produced, is targeted to shutter on July 31, 2021. It employs an estimated 1,600. The company said immediate layoffs are not planned there and anticipates that most employees will remain until the facility closes.
The cuts are part of a $1 billion global restructuring plan, which the merging companies announced in late 2019 with limited details. Mylan and Upjohn announced the consolidation in July 2019, which became official about six weeks ago. The merged company began operations Nov. 16.
Viatris is striving to reduce its costs by $1 billion or more by the end of 2024, if not sooner.
Viatris president Rajiv Malik said in a prepared statement: “After more than a decade of building a robust global platform, we are taking the natural next step as we shape a new company that we believe can meet the needs of patients and customers in this evolving health-care landscape.”
The Pittsburgh Business Times reported that West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said he is working with Viatris to find a new operator of the Morgantown facility.
Viatris’ Southpointe location is one of the company’s three global centers. The others are in Shanghai and Hyderabad, India.