CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (AP) — A representative of a Swiss chemical and biological manufacturer says most of the approximately 140 employees at the company's suburban Philadelphia plant are likely to lose their jobs when the plant closes by the end of the year.
Lonza Group Ltd. in Basel says the closure is part of a worldwide restructuring expected to cut 450 of its 8,500 workers. The first phase includes shutting the Upper Merion Township plant and smaller facilities in Quebec and the United Kingdom.
Spokesman Dominik Werner says the Conshohocken plant, which makes custom chemical ingredients for pharmaceutical manufacturers, has about 80 professional or technical staffers and about 60 other workers. He says "the vast majority" are expected to lose their jobs, although some might go to other U.S. plants.
