Top 10 Costa Rica

Merck Sharp & Dome Closing Costa Rica Plant

Merck Sharp & Dome, (MSD, the international developer, manufacturer and distributor of pharmaceuticals, in an effort to reduce costs has announced the decision to close its Costa Rica operation, putting 104 people of of work.

The company said it will be shutting down its Pavas plant by the end of 2009.

However, the company will continue to keep a presence in Costa Rica, maintaining its “Mercadeo y Ventas” (Marketing and Sales) division open, providing support for its products.

The production work in Costa Rica will be moved to other plants, though the company did not give specifics.

The closure is part of the company’s restructuring, closing down plants in various countries, including the United States.

Livia Cruz, manager of the MSD plant in Costa Rica, said the decision to close was not an easy one, for months the company has been looking at its organizational structure and the closure is part of the company’s strategy to stay competitive.

The company is expected to provide the employees an attractive financial package to ease the financial strain and will start packing up for its move beginning in the last quarter of the year.

The company stresses that the Costa Rica closure, as well as the other closures, is not due to the world economic crisis, but rather, a decision after three years of analysis and evaluation of the company’s operations.