AstraZeneca today announced that production will be reduced at the North Ryde manufacturing facility in Sydney, which principally manufactures Pulmicort Respules, a childhood asthma medication, for overseas markets. This is due to the significant and ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the loss of a major export tender.
Demand for Pulmicort Respules has reduced by more than 80% during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the recent tender loss for this export asthma product means that this substantial drop in demand will persist for the foreseeable future.
Therefore, AstraZeneca has made the very difficult decision to downsize the facility. Regrettably, there will be around 240 positions lost, approximately 50% of the plant workforce. Our highest priority is to support our employees during this process.
Over the past 15 months, AstraZeneca has retained and paid employees throughout the continued reduction in production at the facility. We have explored a range of commercial options with Government and industry, including both the redeployment of employees and potential adaptations of the facility. However, the highly specialised site and associated manufacturing processes meant this has not been possible at this time.
AstraZeneca will consult with both public and private business partners in relation to the expertise and skill set of these highly qualified individuals and to explore options for redeployment within the industry or new employment opportunities.
The North Ryde manufacturing facility remains an important centre for both AstraZeneca and manufacturing in Australia. AstraZeneca Australia is committed to improving health outcomes for Australians and open to discussions on supporting these outcomes and collaborating with both public and private entities.
The decision to downsize the North Ryde facility at this time has no impact on medicine supplies in Australia as it is primarily an export site. We are proud of our long heritage in Australia, where for more than 64 years, AstraZeneca has been providing medicines to treat many cancers and chronic diseases, saving lives and extending life for millions of Australians.