Discussions over the future of Grimsby鈥檚 Novartis plant ahead of the pharmaceutical giant鈥檚 devastating departure have been described as 鈥減roductive鈥 by the leader of the local authority.
Philip Jackson hosted the first task force meeting at Grimsby Town Hall, with 400 jobs in the balance after the Swiss multi-national ended its involvement in bulk manufacture.
The huge decision, announced in September 2018, sparked calls for a Minister-led intervention by then MP, Melanie Onn.
With the reshuffle ramifications ringing around Westminster, and new Business Secretary barely sworn in, Friday鈥檚 gathering was chaired by site director Ian Johnson, with the first major unit closure understood to be just two months away.
North East Lincolnshire Council鈥檚 leader was joined by Grimsby MP Lia Nici, further representation from the authority and government - though details of who and at what level were not forthcoming.聽
Cllr Jackson, leader of NELC, said: 鈥淭he task force meeting has been very productive. As a council, we鈥檝e pledged to working with Novartis and other parties on the future plans as they evolve.
鈥淪eparately, we鈥檝e been working hard to make sure there鈥檚 increased confidence in the area, working nationally, regionally and locally to help deliver a whole new raft of employment opportunities and encourage development and change in the town centre and beyond.
鈥淲e鈥檙e determined to keep working in partnership with our private sector partners and future investors to bring new employment opportunities to the area.鈥
South Humber Industrial Investment Programme is a huge plank of that work, with the new entrance sitting beside the gates of the sprawling site, which covers 220 acres of prime industrial land.
When the full production schedule comes to a close at the end of the year, Novartis will have fallen just short of 70 continuous years of production under various names on Moody Lane.
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Should no going concern buyer be found for the 鈥楶harmaceutical Campus鈥 as industrial specialist CBRE is marketing it, the loss would represent a 拢23 million blow to the economy in wages alone.
As reported, Grimsby has been a centre of production excellence, with the team highly regarded within the global giant.
A spokesperson for Novartis saidL 鈥淭he Novartis Grimsby task force meeting took place at Grimsby Town Hall where representatives from Novartis were joined by local authority and government officials. The meeting included a site status update and an exchange on the activities being undertaken to support Novartis employees.
鈥淭here were some very useful discussions around preferred outcomes for employees, the local community and the site.聽 Participants agreed to engage with and support future taskforce meetings to help Novartis Grimsby continue to explore all possible opportunities.鈥
With enhanced redundancy packages, re-training and support from financial planning to mental health all being delivered, those close to the company describe it as one of the best examples of handling such a difficult situation.
Role shifts have also been made internally to aid individuals鈥 CVs, while Novartis has engaged with Jobcentre Plus, Humber LEP, Catch, universities and training providers, as well as the civic stakeholders.
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Initial interest was shown in site, with return visits from more than one party when it hit the market late last summer.
Mr Johnson has previously listed options as a sale as a going concern, or to an owner operator/landlord as favoured, with in-house strip and reclaim and third party strip and reclaim contingencies.
