Drug firm Pfizer on Wednesday said that it is closing its over 50-year old Thane plant, which was lying idle since 2013, from September 16, 2015. "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...," a Pfizer spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the closure of the facility will not impact supply of any of the company's medicines to patients. The plant, which employed 212 workers, had offered a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) last year. This was taken up by as many as 132 workmen, the spokesperson said."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," the company spokesperson said. In a filing to the BSE, Pfizer said, "the company has intimated the concerned authorities that it intends to effect closure of its plant situated at Thane Belapur Road,... Navi Mumbai with effect from September 16, 2015".