By Katie Wagner, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY — Although Bristol-Myers Squibb announced Wednesday that it will shed approximately 10 percent of its workforce and seek alternatives for some of its divisions, including Montgomery-based ConvaTec, a company official said the cutbacks should have little real effect on the Orchard Road facility.
According to Pete Paradossi, a spokesman for ConvaTec, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s shifting of its business model will have no significant impact on ConvaTec, which has its worldwide headquarters in Montgomery, where between 250 and 325 people are employed.
”All of the specific productivity initiatives, which include closing plants and eliminating headcount will really have a small impact on the ConvaTec business,” Mr. Paradossi said. “None of ConvaTec’s manufacturing facilities, which are located in other parts of the world, are targeted for closure.”
He added that Bristol-Myers is reviewing a range of strategic alternatives for ConvaTec, declining to say whether or not the company was considering selling ConvaTec.
”The company has said that it’s going to continue to review a wide range of strategic alternatives for ConvaTec and Mead Johnson, but that could mean a number of things. That doesn’t mean necessarily that the business is just going to be sold,” Mr. Paradossi said. “Clearly, I think it’s important to note that no decision has been made regarding ConvaTec and that the business continues to make important contributions to Bristol-Myers Squibb.”
Bristol-Myers Squibb recently announced it will be reducing its total headcount by approximately 10 percent, manufacturing facilities by 50 percent and mature products brands by 60 percent, as the company shifts its commercial and scientific focuses to areas like specialty medicines.
Bristol-Myers is one of the largest private employers in the area, employing approximately 5,000 at facilities in Lawrence, West Windsor, Hopewell Township and Plainsboro.
Laura Hortas, a spokeswoman for Bristol-Myers, declined to provide the numbers of people employed at each facility or how many of their positions she expected the company to terminate.
”It’s really hard to say (how many people will be let go), because really the majority of functions are more related to certain plant closures,” Ms. Hortas said.
The reduction in personnel is not occurring all at once, with “the substantial majority of positions” to be eliminated in 2008 and 2009, according to Bristol-Myers.
While the company is reducing its headcount in certain functions, it will continue to invest in research and development (R&D), biologics and commercialization talent. It’s also seeking opportunities to maximize the value of some of its non-pharmaceutical companies, like Mead Johnson and ConvaTec, which specializes in products for wound care and ostomies — surgical openings in the abdomen that eliminate bodily wastes.
