Two US plants and a total of 640 jobs to go by the end of next year

Boehringer Ingelheim is closing two US manufacturing plants, with a combined loss of 640 jobs. One plant, in Petersburg, Virginia, makes active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The other, in Bedford, Ohio, makes a range of finished drug products.

The company partly closed the Petersburg plant last year, citing poor demand for its APIs. It will be completely shut down in several phases by the end of 2014. The site in Bedford houses one of Boehringer’s oldest manufacturing plants. After several product recalls and contamination issues in recent years, the company is planning to concentrate production in newer facilities. Closing the plant will affect around 400 employees, leaving 800 still working in other parts of the Bedford site.