Ameridose To Idle Hundreds In Westborough
Westborough-based Ameridose LLC, the sister company of the Framingham steroid manufacturer linked to a nationwide meningitis outbreak, has formally notified state officials that it intends to lay off more than 700 employees by the end of this month.
The layoff notice, required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988, said 676 Ameridose employees have been laid off effective Nov. 9, and an additional 31 will lose their jobs as of Nov. 30. The notice, filed with the Massachusetts Division of Career Services, comes after the pharmaceutical company announced plans last week to temporarily lay off 650 employees.
"In our current circumstances, our business prospects are very difficult to predict, and it is our hope that many of these layoffs will be temporary and that a number of employees will be brought back to work. Because of the uncertainty of the situation, however, we are providing this notice to comply with federal law," Geri A. Weinstein, director of human resources at Ameridose, said in the notification letter.
According to the notification, Ameridose employees who were temporarily laid off last week had been receiving pay checks, but now the company expects it will have to resume operations at a reduced level.
The notification followed the release of a report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which found that Ameridose hasn't followed required sterility procedures at its Flanders Road operations, citing problems ranging from the presence of insects and a bird in close proximity to drugs to leaking and corroding walls in room where sterile drug products were prepared, plus the use of non-sterile personnel gowns, eyewear and gloves. The company has agreed to work with regulators to correct the problems.
Ameridose, which owns a building on Flanders Road, has been doing business in Westborough for two years, according to Town Manager Jim Malloy.
Read more
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments