There was great concern after a rumor circulated in Orth an der Donau (Lower Austria): the region’s largest employer, the factory of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda, would be closed. The “Krone” has investigated and now has an official confirmation: most of the site will be sold and 190 employees will be affected.
Only in September did Orth an der Donau celebrate its 40th anniversary as a location for the pharmaceutical industry. Now the rumor that the Takeda factory there will be closed has been confirmed: as the “Krone” has learned, most of the site will be sold.
Gradual reduction in employment
The sale affects the infrastructure of the Orth site’s core competency – these are the development and production areas. “We will now phase out these activities during the sales process,” Takeda spokeswoman Astrid Kindler confirmed, stressing that affected employees “will be supported in a variety of ways and will act in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.”
Quality control laboratory remains in place
But they’re not backing down completely: “The quality control lab isn’t affected by this,” says Kindler, and there are no changes here. The employees were informed about the sale on Wednesday: According to Takeda, about 190 of the approximately 330 employees there were unfortunately affected by the sale plan.
The location in Vienna is not affected
Currently, a total of 4,500 people work for Taketa throughout Austria. The location in Vienna is not affected by the measures, it is said.
It is bad news for workers in the Marchfeld region, where there is already a shortage of jobs. After an inquiry from the “Krone”, Elisabeth Wagnes, mayor of the city with 2,200 inhabitants, also received the bad news: “We still remain in close contact with the factory to get the best out of the affected people. And I hope that new jobs will be created after the sale.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
