Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. will lay off 236 employees in Rockland County as a result of a plant closure in Pomona.
The layoffs began on Aug. 25 and will continue until the plant”™s closing date on Feb. 28, 2017, according to a Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed by the company on Tuesday with the state Labor Department.
“The closure impacts approximately 80 employees in operations at the site,” said Michele Pelkowski, a spokesperson for Teva.
The pharmaceuticals manufacturer, an Israel-based company with U.S. headquarters in North Wales, Penn., cited economic conditions as the reason behind the plant”™s closing.
“Closure of the Pomona site has been under consideration for a period of time, and Teva’s Pomona-based employees were informed previously of this possibility,” Pelkowski said.
Teva’s acquisition of Actavis Generics, Allergan plc’s generic pharmaceuticals business, will allow the company to consolidate certain research and development activities from Pomona to its site in Elizabeth, N.J., Pelkowski said. The $40.5 billion deal was completed in August. Teva forecasts that more than 130 positions will available at the Elizabeth site.
Unions that represent employees at the 223 Quaker Road plant include United Steel, Paper & Forestry Rubber, Manufacturing Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union and District 4.
Pelkowski said no further decisions regarding the future of the building or the property have been determined.