Pfizer, one of the region’s largest employers, to close two NC Triangle facilities

Pfizer, the drug manufacturing giant and one of the Triangle’s largest employers, confirmed Friday it will shutter two Triangle area facilities as part of a broader $3.5 billion cost-saving initiative.

The sites are the company’s Research Triangle Park office near Morrisville and its clinical manufacturing facility just outside the Park in Durham.

Pfizer did not disclose how many jobs will be impacted. In an email to The News & Observer that “All job-related decisions will be made with transparency, compassion, and respect, and in compliance with applicable laws.”

Under federal law, employers must file a WARN Notice 60 days ahead of closing a site that impacts at least 50 employees. Pfizer has not filed a notice of layoffs, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce website.

The Durham closure comes only two years after Pfizer opened that site as part of $66 million investment by the company. The 85,000-square-foot facility focused on gene therapy treatments. This site was expected to add 50 jobs and relocate around 40 workers from Chapel Hill.

On Oct. 13, Pfizer announced it would undergo a multiyear plan to save $3.5 billion, including $1 billion by the end of this year. The company also lowered its yearly revenue forecast due to lower-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine. Last year, Pfizer reported record revenue fueled by coronavirus vaccine sales.

On Friday, the company said it continues to operate its largest North Carolina facilities in Rocky Mount and Sanford.

According to Wake County Economic Development, Pfizer was among the 20 largest employers in the Triangle region at the start of 2023, with approximately 3,700 workers.

As of Friday evening, multiple Triangle-based Pfizer employees had added the hashtag OpenToWork on their LinkedIn profiles.

Morrisville Mayor T.J. Cawley said he is hopeful any affected workers will land elsewhere locally.

“Overall, I think our area is pretty well buffered from the economic downtown,” he said. “Talent will always move around from company to company. We have such a strong talent pool that companies will keep coming here.”