Close to a year after Pfizer announced a lockout notice at its Thane plant, the multinational drugmaker has decided to close this “vintage” manufacturing facility from mid-September.

One of Pfizer’s oldest facilities, the plant was commissioned in the 1960s, and has been serving local and foreign markets. Incidentally, Pfizer’s decision to close the plant comes within days after Sandoz (the generic drugs arm of Novartis) announced its decision to close their Turbhe site by December 2016.

Explaining its action on the Thane plant, Pfizer said, “the decision to close the site is based on an assessment of its long term viability and its ability to achieve the needed production. There has practically been no production activity at this plant since 2013, and the closure will not impact the supply of any of our medicines to patients.”

The company had offered a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to the workmen at this site last year, on their request. Out of the 212 workmen, 132 opted for it, it added. Pfizer was estimated to have forked out about ₹80 crore toward the VRS.

Lockout notice “The remaining 80 workmen have continued to receive full wages, despite plant inactivity. As a part of the closure process, the company will honour its obligations towards requisite compensation, as mandated by law, for the remaining workmen,” it added. Last August, Pfizer had issued a lockout notice at the Thane site stating that multiple incidents of “indiscipline” had threatened the working environment. Pfizer union representatives had then told BusinessLine that there had been unhappiness over issues including workmen’s wages, medical coverage etc.

The stand-off later reached the Labour Commissioner’s office and is still to be resolved.

Pfizer clarified that its latest decision had nothing to do with the lockout notice dispute and was based on an assessment of the plant’s long term viability and ability to achieve the needed production.

The company will honour its obligations as mandated by law for the remaining workmen, it said responding to BusinessLine ’s query.

Goa troubles The company did not comment on whether the land was up for sale, but added “we will continue to evaluate all our options.” Pfizer’s Goa plant too, is seeing trouble with employees, but the company clarified there was no connection between the Thane plant closure and developments at Goa.

In May, Pfizer had said that “a matter of conciliation” between the management and workers union at Goa was being heard at the State Labour Commissioner's office.

“This follows a charter of demands submitted by the Union. The Management hopes to resolve the matter expeditiously. There is a temporary impact on production for which the company is putting into place contingency measures," it had said.

On the present status at Goa, the company spokesperson said, the two parties were in discussion for a “mutually agreeable resolution”.

The Goa plant came under Pfizer from Wyeth, a fellow-multinational that had been merged into Pfizer following a global $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth in January 2009.

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