InvaGen Pharmaceuticals to cut 205 jobs at plants in Central Islip, Hauppauge

A Long Island drugmaker plans to cut more than 200 jobs at two of its factories, or about 40% of the sites’ combined workforce, according to a regulatory filing.

InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc. will lay off 160 employees out of 408 at 550 South Research Place in Central Islip. The company also will lay off 45 employees out of 96 at 600 Old Willets Path in Hauppauge, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications submitted to the state Department of Labor.

The terminations are set to be completed by Dec. 20, according to the notifications.

Mohammad Areeb, InvaGen’s human resources vice president, confirmed the planned layoffs, telling Newsday on Monday that the affected employees were notified in August. He directed a reporter to the company’s parent, Cipla Ltd. in Mumbai, India, for additional information.

Cipla has no plans to close the two InvaGen factories, along with a third one at 7 Oser Ave., also in Hauppauge, according to a Cipla spokesperson.

"Cipla remains fully committed to the U.S., having invested over $1 billion in the past decade and continuing our investments by adding two sites in the last two years," the spokesperson said in a statement. 

The spokesperson added that the layoffs in Central Islip and Hauppauge "are part of a strategic realignment as we sharpen our focus on complex and specialized products to position the business for sustainable, long-term growth."

The spokesperson didn’t respond to Newsday’s request to identify them by name.

Job cuts in Long Island’s pharmaceutical and vitamin industry are unusual. The sector, which consists of about 100 companies, has added more than 2,000 jobs since 2019, based on state employment data.

Among the drugmakers that are expanding is Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc., which plans to spend $61 million to convert a North Bellport warehouse into a factory and create about 70 jobs. ScieGen Pharmaceuticals recently purchased a vacant lot in Hauppauge to construct a factory and warehouse where up to 200 people could eventually work, Newsday previously reported.

"Many companies are expanding," Tom Mariner, the executive director of the trade group LIBio, told Newsday last month. "Long Island is a hub for the industry, and that means employment opportunities for present and future generations."

The layoffs at InvaGen won’t cause the company to have to repay the nearly $6 million in tax breaks it received in 2011-12 from the state and Islip Town. The aid was awarded in return for InvaGen opening the South Research Place factory instead of moving to New Jersey, then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said at the time.

The tax breaks have expired and InvaGen, even with the layoffs, has exceeded the 150 jobs that it promised to create at the South Research Place plant, based on state reports.

Islip spokesperson Caroline Smith confirmed Monday that the IDA tax breaks ended in 2021.

In 2015, InvaGen and another U.S. drugmaker were purchased by Cipla for $550 million in cash.

Five years later, Cipla sought more than $400,000 in tax breaks from the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency for the Old Willets Path factory but withdrew the request after pushback for refusing to commit to creating jobs at the site.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.