Pfizer to relocate supply, planning department in Belgium to Bucharest

U.S. multinational pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer plans to relocate its supply and planning department in Belgium to Romania’s capital Bucharest, the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions in Belgium said, according to SeeNews.com.

Ahead of the relocation to Bucharest, Pfizer plans to lay off 38 at its distribution center in Zaventem, out of 238 currently employed, the trade union confederation said.

The department that will be relocated plans the manufacturing of Pfizer products at subcontractors. Last month, Pfizer and BioNTech announced an agreement with the European Commission to supply an additional 200 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to the 27 European Union member states in addition to the 300 million doses already committed to the EU through 2021 under the first supply agreement signed last year.

“We do not understand the choice of Pfizer at all. For the moment, all the personnel is working for the production of the vaccine,” the union said.

“To proceed with a dismissal in the current health context is a slap in the face for all Pfizer employees who participate in the company’s success and who, among other things, contribute hours without counting to the production of vaccines against the Covid,” Michel Barbuto, a permanent representative of the union, said.

According to the union, Pfizer paid $8.4 billion (6.97 billion euro) in dividends in 2020 and being one of the few producers of the anti-Covid vaccine, whose production is based in Puurs, Belgium, Pfizer makes a profit of up to 5 euro per dose, according to the press release.

With 1.6 million members, the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions is the largest trade union in Belgium, according to information published on its website.

According to union data, Pfizer has 2,500 employees in Belgium, representing 3% of Pfizer’s total workforce. Pfizer Belgium operates at four sites: in Anderlecht (Pfizer Clinical Research Center), Ixelles (administrative and commercial headquarters), Puurs (production site) and Zaventem (distribution center).

In Romania, Pfizer has been present since 1993. In 2011, it has acquired local drug producer Ferrosan, which had a factory in Cluj-Napoca. Currently, Pfizer is producing food supplements at the plant, which it exports to Europe, Asia, the U.S. and the Middle East. Besides production, the company also does research and development in Romania in essential therapeutic areas.

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