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KV Pharmaceutical Cutting 289 Jobs

Suburban St. Louis-based drug maker KV Pharmaceutical Co. is cutting 289 jobs -- or about 42 percent of its work force.

BRIDGETON, Mo. (AP) -- The suburban St. Louis-based drug maker KV Pharmaceutical Co. is cutting 289 jobs -- or about 42 percent of its work force.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday that many of the laid-off workers had been at the company for more than a decade.

The cut leaves 391 employees at KV Pharmaceutical. As recently as 2008, there were 1,700 workers there.

Interim CEO David Van Vliet says the action was difficult but necessary.

In March, Ethex Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of KV Pharmaceutical, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of criminal fraud for failing to report to the Food and Drug Administration that it was making oversize tablets that could be harmful to patients. The company agreed to $27.6 million in fines and restitution.

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