Perrigo’s Omega Pharma has underperformed since the Dublin drugmaker picked it up for $4.5 billion last March. Now, under activist pressure, the company is doing something about it, Fierce Pharma reports.
Perrigo is planning to restructure its Omega Pharma Belgium business, it announced Thursday, a move it thinks will “improve the financial profile and enhance focus of the business on branded consumer OTC products”—but also put as many as 80 workers out of a job.
Among the changes: Perrigo plans to sell off Omega’s Etixx brand and business, and it will let a distribution pact with Sweden’s Meda expire.
Meanwhile, though, employees will be feeling the consequences. Perrigo’s Thursday announcement marked the beginning of a consultation period required by Belgian law when job cuts are imminent. The layoffs are slated to hit Omega Pharma Belgium, Etixx and Biover, another brand under the Omega umbrella.
“The number of employees impacted is expected to be in the 45 to 80 range,” a company spokesman said in an interview.
The layoffs in Belgium won’t be Perrigo’s first in recent memory. Last October, as part of an effort to dodge a takeover from hostile suitor Mylan, the company unveiled plans to slash 800 jobs and buy back $2 billion in stock.
