Janssen Pharmaceutica to lay off between 125 and 148 staff in Beerse

Between 125 and 148 jobs will be cut at Janssen Pharmaceutica's site in Beerse, Antwerp province. That announced the pharmaceutical company at a special works council meeting on Friday. There was already a similar reorganisation in the spring of 2023.

Within the logistics department of the Beerse site, the so-called supply chain that mainly involves physical work, there would be no redundancies. However, all other departments may be affected. A total of 5,309 people work for Janssen at different sites in Belgium.

Janssen is part of the American company Johnson & Johnson. That company stated in a comment that it must “adapt to continue to meet the needs of patients in the future”. “We are developing activities in a complex and rapidly changing environment,” added Johnson & Johnson.

Specifically, there are two main causes. A key Johnson & Johnson patent on the anti-inflammatory drug Stelara, one of the company's most profitable medicines, is about to expire. Moreover, a lot of countries are cutting subsidies for research into new drugs.

Johnson & Johnson promises to support all affected employees. For instance, it wants to guide them in retraining so that they can also qualify for open vacancies. The unions and management will meet in the coming days.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Logo of pharmaceutical company Janssen Pharmaceutica's site in Beerse © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM}