American pharmaceutical giant Merck &amp; Co. will close a manufacturing plant at its facility in Tuas, Singapore, and lay off some employees.
A company spokesperson responded to inquiries from Lianhe Zaobao on Wednesday (March 18) stating that affected employees have been notified about the plant closure, and this decision does not affect the operations of other plants in Tuas.
The spokesperson said, &#34;We will continue to assess operational conditions and changing business needs, making adjustments as necessary to ensure the efficient operation of our production network and the stable supply of regulatory-compliant medicines and vaccines.&#34;
The company did not disclose the number of affected employees or details about the production lines being closed.
According to information on the company's website, Merck Sharp &amp; Dohme (MSD) has been in Singapore since 1997 and established its Asia-Pacific headquarters in 2007, with cumulative investments in local production assets exceeding $2 billion (approximately SGD 2.5 billion).
The company employs over 1,800 people in Singapore, including 1,150 direct employees and 300 indirect service providers at its manufacturing facility.
The company's latest investment facility locally is a packaging facility announced in 2022, along with a new generation inhaler production line that is set to commence production this year.
<h3>Closure of Some Facilities May Be Related to U.S. Tariff Policy</h3>
According to anonymous sources, the closure of some production facilities may be related to restructuring prompted by U.S. tariff policies.
The Trump administration announced last September that it would impose a 100% tariff on branded drugs unless they were manufactured in the U.S.; however, the implementation of this plan was postponed the following month to allow pharmaceutical companies time to negotiate exemptions with the U.S. government.
In October of last year, Singapore's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Janil Puthucheary, stated in Parliament that many manufacturing companies with facilities in Singapore had plans to build new capacity or expand existing facilities in the U.S. and were waiting for more details from the U.S. government to confirm whether their plans met the criteria for tariff exemptions.
Industry analysts pointed out that despite the postponement, the uncertainty of U.S. policies looms over pharmaceutical companies like the &#34;Sword of Damocles,&#34; forcing businesses to accelerate supply chain restructuring, cut costs, and consider relocating production.
In July of last year, Merck announced plans to cut $3 billion (approximately SGD 3.83 billion) in expenses annually by the end of 2027, which includes plans to lay off about 6,000 employees globally, accounting for approximately 8% of its global workforce.
At that time, company management explained that this was part of resource reallocation, with the saved funds to be reinvested into other emerging research and development and production lines to address potential competition from generics and biosimilars after the patent protection for its core cancer drug Keytruda expires in 2028.
Company financial reports indicate that Keytruda generated sales of $31.7 billion last year, accounting for nearly half of the company's total sales.
Earlier reports indicated that Merck had transferred part of the production lines for this cancer drug from its primary manufacturing base in Dublin, Ireland, to the U.S. last year due to increasing tariff pressures facing the Irish pharmaceutical industry
In addition, at the end of last year, Merck also announced an important agreement with the U.S. government to postpone the implementation of potential drug import tariffs for three years, while committing to invest over $70 billion in domestic production and research and development in the U.S. over the next few years.
Merck is a multinational pharmaceutical company ranked among the top ten in global market capitalization and among the top three in revenue, known as Merck &amp; Co. in the U.S. and Canada.
The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, closing at $115.87 on Tuesday (17th) Eastern Time, up 0.38%.
Lianhe Zaobao has also inquired about this matter with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)

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American pharmaceutical giant Merck will close a manufacturing plant in Singapore and lay off employees. A spokesperson stated that affected employees have been notified, and this decision will not impact the operations of other plants. The company will continue to assess operational conditions to ensure the efficient operation of its production network. Merck has been in Singapore since 1997, with total investments exceeding $2 billion. This closure may be related to U.S. tariff policies

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American pharmaceutical giant Merck will close a production line in Singapore and lay off employees | Lianhe Zaobao