Novartis has informed workers that it plans to close some operations in Ireland with the potential loss of 320 jobs. The Swiss drugs giant will close an API unit and a global service center at the Ringaskiddy site in County Cork as it consolidates API operations there up to mid-2022.

Local management said the workforce drawdown of the now 550-strong workforce would begin in mid-2020. Local management said 240 jobs in the API plant will be affected, along with 80 in the Global Service Centre. According to the newspaper Irish Times, some €850 million has been invested at the site “over the years.”

Novartis will continue to carry out certain business services at the Irish campus where it will continue to manufacture medicines for hypertension, heart failure and acromegaly. The company has hinted, however, that more jobs could be cut in future as it evaluates potential partnership opportunities and divestment scenarios.

Reducing the workforce at Ringaskiddy is a strategic decision and part of the ongoing evaluation of the its manufacturing network around the world, the drugmaker said in a statement. At the service center, which currently employs 180 people, the job cuts are said to reflect the relocation of some service positions to centralized operations centers in Europe and Asia.

As the downsizing kicks in, Novartis said it will work closely with employees and their representatives to support the transition, providing severance packages and outplacement services. Cork is one of 60 global sites belonging to the Novartis Technical Operations division. With a sharper focus on centralization, the drugmaker aims to optimize capacity and lower costs.