US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer intends to cut up to 62 of the 350 jobs at its Brussels headquarters.
Workers were in shock at the magnitude of this restructuring, announced in a corporate meeting on Wednesday. “The staff are in a panic and want clarity,” said Christian trade union federation ACV.
The job cuts, however, will not impact the site in Puurs, which hosts the majority of Pfizer’s 5,000 workers in Belgium, Kathleen Commers of Pfizer Belux said.
The staff reduction forms part of Pfizer’s global cost-cutting programme. The information and consultation phase of the Renault procedure has started. “We hope to limit the impact on our workers as much as possible and will explore alternatives for them within the company,” Commers explained.
[The Procédure Renault, a term referring to Belgian labour law on collective redundancies, foresees a legally mandatory consultation period when an employer intends to proceed with a collective redundancy, as well as specific termination indemnities.]
“In regard to Belgium, we anticipate little effect on our colleagues at the Puurs production site and Zaventem logistics centre,” Ms. Commers said. “The proposed plan would primarily involve scaling back activities at the Brussels head office.”
Administrative, commercial, medical, regulatory and support staff work at Pfizer’s Brussels headquarters.
For ACV, the job losses do not come as a surprise. However, mass redundancies were not expected. “The scale of the layoffs is a surprise,” said trade union leader Dalila Maïzi.
The first meeting as part of the Renault procedure is scheduled for Monday 29 January.
