A pharmaceutical company will lay off 200 employees over the next two years but the government will be finding them alternative employment, it was announced this morning.

Economy Minister Chris Cardona and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo said Actavis will be reducing its workforce as part of a consolidation exercise after it was acquired by Teva in August of this year. Actavis operates in Hal Far and Bulebel and currently employs more than 700 people and intends to cut down the number to 500. 

The decision was announced last night. 

The ministers said the government has appointed a task force to identify alternate employment and many vacancies in the pharmaceutical field have been identified.

Jobsplus CEO Clyde Caruana said the workers will be offered employment in a number of other companies in the private sector.

Employees were being informed just as the press conference was being held. The redundancy process will last until 2018 but it was explained that at least 175 of the 200 workers that will be laid off will be in new jobs by 2017. 

In a statement, Teva announced its intentions to cease operations at its Hal Far, Malta operation. The proposal to exit this site from the global network is informed by a comprehensive review designed to optimize network efficiency, eliminate excess capacity to reduce costs, and better align production with market demand.     

As a result, approximately 170 jobs, including union and non-union positions, are at risk of redundancy when manufacturing is estimated to cease at the end of the first quarter of 2018.

Furthermore, the Bulebel, Malta, facility is experiencing decreased volumes and will consequently restructure its operations accordingly. The outcome of the restructuring is expected to impact approximately 35 jobs over the first half of 2017.

All other Teva functional activities, including Bulebel manufacturing operations, will continue in Malta.  

"We have hard-working and highly skilled people at our sites and these recommendations do not reflect on their high-level of performance. We are committed to being a responsible employer and will make decisions in accordance with all local laws and consultation processes. We will work with those impacted to make this challenging period of transition as smooth as possible.  Outplacement services and severance benefits will be offered to all employees," the company said in a statement.