Half of the workforce will be laid off in the coming months and the remainder when the plant finally closes in March 2019, a company statement said.
The generic drugs giant said it had failed to find a buyer for the plant, adding that its production of medical infusion bags, which accounts for around half of its activities, was not profitable.
Describing the closure of the Ashdod factory as “painful but unavoidable,” the statement said, “As Teva announced in December, Teva-Ashdod is included in the reorganization process being carried out as planned in Israel and the world, with the purpose of reducing the cost base in light of the heavy debt hanging over the company and the complicated business circumstances with which it is grappling.”
Teva has also announced that it will close factories in Jerusalem in in the central cities of Netanya and Petah Tikva and said that as in these cases, it hoped to resolve issues through negotiation and agreement with the Histadrut labor organization.The company said it would give the dismissed workers the best possible benefits “above and beyond the law” and would provide hearings and professional advice and training. “Teva will behave with respect, fairness and sensitivity,” the company pledged.
The company had some 6,800 employees in Israel and some 57,000 workers globally as of the end of November, and is one of the nation’s largest employers.
9 April 2018
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
