Roche to shut UK R&D site
F Hoffman-La Roche Ltd is to close its pharmaceutical research and development and manufacturing operations at Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, with the loss of around 700 jobs.
The closure is part of a worldwide restructuring of Roche's pharmaceuticals division which will see up to 3,000 jobs lost over the next three years. Roche says that it has significant overcapacity in manufacturing as a result of changes to its product portfolio. It has decided to cease pharmaceutical manufacturing at Welwyn Garden City and chemical production at Basel, Switzerland.