Bayer has notified the state that it will permanently furlough 487 employees by the end of December, nearly a year after announcing the closure of the German company’s North American headquarters in Robinson Township.
In January, the company, which makes pharmaceuticals, consumer health and other products, said it would shutter its operations in Robinson over the next two years following its $63 billion acquisition of St. Louis agricultural seed maker Monsanto.
At the time, the company noted that it planned to cut 12,000 jobs worldwide by 2021.
About 600 people worked at the Robinson site and a Sept. 4 letter to the state Department of Labor and Industry stated that 487 employees will lose their jobs by year’s end.
A Bayer official said Wednesday the layoffs would not affect employment at its other Pittsburgh-area operations.
“This action doesn’t impact Bayer’s market-leading radiology business in the Pittsburgh area, which employs more than 1,300 people in Indianola, O’Hara and Saxonburg,” spokesman Dan Childs said in a statement.
“We have the utmost appreciation for the employees and their families affected by this decision, and we are committed to treating each employee with dignity and respect throughout this process.”
Kris B. Mamula: kmamula@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1699
Updated at 3:19 p.m. Sept. 11, 2019
First Published: September 11, 2019, 3:56 p.m.
