Pharmaceutical Company GSK Criticized for Closure Plans

Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has strongly criticized the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for its plans to close its Dresden facility. “First and foremost, I formally condemn the way in which the employees learned about this closure,” he said in the state parliament. The employees, he noted, had learned of the plans unsuspectingly while in the courtyard of their workplace. “This is no way to treat people who have stood by a business, by a company, for years and decades—through good times and bad.”

“We also formally criticize the fact that this company has made no effort whatsoever to bring new products to this location (...)”, Kretschmer emphasized. They could have worked with the government and the local ecosystem to consider what else could be produced instead of vaccine doses. “This has nothing to do with responsibility for property (...) According to our constitution, anyone who owns property is also obligated to manage it carefully.”

GSK Plans to Relocate Production to Canada

GSK announced last week that it would close its Dresden site, which employs nearly 650 people, by the summer of 2028. In the future, flu vaccine production is to be consolidated at the Ste-Foy facility in Canada. The reasons cited were declining global demand and existing overcapacity. 

Companies like GSK will be needed during the next pandemic

According to Kretschmer, Germany and Europe must ask themselves how an important production site for vaccines can be maintained in the future. “Because, in my opinion, our country cannot do without it. We should have learned from the last pandemic, when we were in a state of absolute emergency.” We will need such facilities during the next pandemic and the next crises, Kretschmer emphasized, calling for support.

Head of government calls for better competitive conditions

At the same time, Kretschmer called for better competitive conditions in Germany. In Germany, a kilowatt-hour of electricity costs 35 cents; in Canada, only 10. There, he noted, there is also no European Union municipal wastewater directive and no packaging ordinance. “What I mean to say is: On the one hand, this is a call for this company to behave responsibly.” The other question is: “What can we do to improve Germany as a business location?”

Kretschmer: Don’t Throw in the Towel Now

“I’d like to encourage all of us not to throw in the towel now, but to stand alongside the employees and the union to ensure that this location has a future—as a pharmaceutical hub and as a manufacturing hub,” Kretschmer concluded his speech.

In the ensuing debate, the AfD accused him of creating poor competitive conditions himself. Representatives from other political groups made it clear that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the AfD repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of vaccines, thereby fueling mistrust among the public.