Nestlé Calls It Quits at Galderma’s R&D site

Nearly four years ago, Nestlé acquired 50 percent of Galderma from L’Oreal. Now, the Swiss company plans to cut 450 of the 550 jobs at its R&D production center in Sophia Antipolis, a technology park near Nice, France.

In 2014, Nestlé’s motive behind the purchase was a part of a larger effort to minimize food and beverage business and migrate into industries with a higher profit margin, like healthcare. However, sales didn’t meet expectations, and the move from topical to injection and orally-administered drugs became problematic. Back in July, the company announced that volumes and pricing suffered in the second quarter. Later in August, Nestlé decided to close a skin cream factory in Switzerland, possibly eliminating 190 jobs.

About 300 of the soon-to-be former staffers are expected to take buyouts, and around 100 other employees will be reassigned to a new R&D facility that makes an oral and injectable prescription drug.

In the upcoming year, Nestlé will determine the next plans for its Sophia Antipolis facility. According to FierceBiotech, shutting down operations in France can be a challenging feat, and sometimes companies are better off finding a buyer than closing up completely. Nestlé has expressed an interest in maintaining a presence at the tech park, but nothing is set in stone — yet.