DURHAM (AP) ó An international drug maker has laid off 22 more employees at its North Carolina research facility following an earlier summer dismissal of scientific workers, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
GlaxoSmithKline said the layoffs of chemists occurred last week at its Medicinal Chemistry and Oncology Department in Research Triangle Park, The Herald-Sun of Durham reported.
The company laid off about 100 workers in its research department in June and two weeks ago laid off 90 people at its manufacturing plant in Zebulon, a Raleigh suburb.
The company said in June it was cutting 350 jobs around the world in its research staff in a restructuring aimed at increasing productivity.
ěPeople recognize that weíre going through a period of restructuring in the company and the layoffs are part of the reshaping of R D thatís been going on since last year,î said company spokeswoman Melinda Stubbee.
Stubbee said the chemists laid off last week worked on various projects.
Glaxo has created smaller teams of scientists called ědiscovery performance unitsî to work on the same research, she said. The teams will be based in Pennsylvania. The company has corporate headquarters in England and operational headquarters in Research Triangle Park and Philadelphia.
Glaxo said in October it would reduce employment and might close some sites in a $3.1 billion program to increase research and development and streamline manufacturing.
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Information from: The Herald-Sun, http://www.herald-sun.com