Squibb to shut facility in Cranbury

Distribution operation will close by June 30.

By: Matt Kirdahy
   Bristol-Myers Squibb announced Wednesday that it will be closing its Cranbury distribution facility.
   The Cranbury facility, which employs 125 people and is located on Squibb Drive off Prospect Plains Road, will close by June 30 as part of a consolidation of American distribution facilities, according to a press release from the company.
   The closing means 36 employees at the facility will be out of a job. The effective date of the layoffs is April 30, according to company spokeswoman Jayne O’Connor.
   The company had announced last month that it was eliminating 113 research jobs worldwide as part of an overhaul of its drug-development approach, Ms. O’Connor said. It plans to narrow its areas of research and focus more on licensing the rights to promising drug compounds from other companies, she said.
   The New York-based drug maker, like others in the industry, has been losing revenues due to generic competition for some of its drugs, according to the Associated Press. It is one of the largest makers of medicines and other health care products in the world that include the over-the-counter pain reliever Excedrin and the drug Pravachol that’s taken for lowering a person’s cholesterol.
   Rob Hutchinson, a spokesman for Bristol-Myers Squibb, said the company is moving all of its U.S. distribution operations to its Mount Vernon, Ind., facility. He said the consolidation is an attempt to increase productivity and take advantage of the advance in both information technology and the nation’s transportation networks during the past decade.
   The 36 employees who will be laid off will be offered severance packages and outplacement services, Ms. O’Connor said.
   Approximately 89 employees at the Cranbury facility, who work in customer service and logistics support functions, will be transferred to the company’s facility in Plainsboro, according to the press release.
   The company reported that approximately 11 employees are eligible for early retirement, which could reduce the number of layoffs.
   Mr. Hutchinson said the company has 8,500 employees throughout New Jersey and 45,000 worldwide.
   The change in drug-development strategy will result in 45 jobs eliminated at its Lawrenceville research lab, 29 at its Hopewell site and 39 in Wallingford, Conn., according to Ms. O’Connor. The layoffs are to take effect March 5.
   Bristol-Myers Squibb has eliminated more than 2,000 jobs since purchasing DuPont Pharmaceuticals in 2001, according to the A.P.
   The company’s earnings and stock price have been down significantly in recent months following a federal investigation of its finances, according to the A.P. The company has said it plans to restate its earnings for the past few years.