Amgen to move Waterford production to Dublin and sell Déise site

Amgen has alerted more than 100 Waterford-based staff that it intends to move its pharmaceutical production from its plant in Waterford to an existing site in south Dublin on a phased basis. The American pharmaceutical company, which purchased Irish-based Horizon Therapeutics for €26 billion in 2023, is planning to sell its Waterford site by 2026.

Staff at the Waterford plant were informed of the plans in recent days and were told that pharmaceutical production was gradually being moved to Amgen’s 37,000 square metre aseptic operations facility in Dún Laoghaire, south Dublin.

In a statement to Waterford News & Star, a spokesperson for Amgen said that after a “careful evaluation” it had decided to “divest the Waterford site to a new owner by early 2026”.

“Moving forward, we will shift long-term production responsibilities to our facility in Dún Laoghaire and other locations within our global manufacturing network. 

“We do not anticipate any impact to our workforce during this period,” the company spokesperson said. “We are actively working to identify a buyer who can maintain operations at the site but is also committed to supporting the community and retaining jobs.” 

“Our top priorities during this transition are ensuring patients continue to receive their medicines and supporting our Waterford colleagues. Ireland will remain a key part of our future as we continue to develop innovative medicines.

“We currently employ over 1,250 people in Ireland, have invested over $1 billion in local manufacturing facilities, and are committed to supporting STEM education in the country through the Amgen Foundation.” 

The IDA refused to comment on the decision.

Prior to being taken over by Amgen, Horizon Therapeutics had received planning permission in November 2022 to build a huge drug manufacturing site in the IDA Business and Technology Park just outside of Waterford City. The cost of the investment had been estimated to be around €1 billion.

Upon the completion of the takeover, The Business Post reported that Amgen had planned to significantly reduce the investment and that it was reviewing whether or not to invest in the Waterford site or in its Pottery Road site. Shortly after this, Amgen laid off 350 employees from Horizon’s worldwide workforce.

“In Ireland, less than 2 per cent of the combined Amgen/legacy Horizon workforce will receive notification that their role has been identified for consultation. We are not providing numbers for individual locations.” 

The company clarified to The Irish Times at the time that it expected around 22 job losses in Ireland in that round of cutbacks.