More layoffs possible? After Ramat Hovav, Teva's Kfar Saba plant is in the crosshairs

Alongside the layoffs of 250 people in Teva's raw materials division at the company's plant in Ramat Hovav, concern is rising among employees that the next target is Teva's plant in Kfar Saba. The wage agreement signed in 2024 with the Kfar Saba workers' committee expires at the end of 2026, and a source close to Teva told ynet that management is leaning toward moving the remainder of the generic drug tablet activity carried out there abroad, an activity that is unprofitable and more expensive than producing it at Teva's plants overseas. After failing to find a buyer: Teva will lay off hundreds of employees in Israel from one of its divisions.

The same source added that given the weak dollar exchange rate, the cost of manufacturing in Israel products now considered commodities in the pharmaceutical market is becoming even less worthwhile, especially when Teva can produce them at its plants near the relevant markets. According to the plan, if it is implemented, only the sterile segment will remain at the Kfar Saba plant, mainly original drugs and more complex products. About 1,000 employees work at the plant, and the concern is over hundreds more layoffs.

In response, Teva said, "As early as 2025, the company announced its intention to reduce its global workforce by 3,000 employees by the end of 2027. No breakdown was given of the layoffs by geographic region, but it would not be unreasonable for layoffs to also occur in Kfar Saba. The concern is understandable, but there is nothing concrete at the moment, it does not guarantee that there will not be something later on. There is also good news, Teva is establishing an innovation operation in Israel, a kind of hub for startups. At each of its sites, this is a necessary transition from simple generics, tablets that are no longer profitable in Israel, to innovation. The sterile segment, which deals with more complex and profitable drugs, will remain at the plant."

Industry sources warn of a reduction in pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in Israel, not only at Teva. Significant changes are also taking place at other plants in the country, the Trima plant in Kibbutz Ma'abarot will be closed after talks to sell it failed. The plant, which has an annual turnover of about 80 million shekels, has been suffering from ongoing losses, and Kibbutz Ma'abarot now plans to try to sell the operations in parts, skin treatments, over-the-counter medicines and anti-inflammatory drugs. Marketing of Postinor, the "morning after" pill, and import activities will likely be transferred to the company "Ma'abarot," also controlled by the kibbutz. In any case, Trima will not continue to exist as a manufacturing company.

It was also recently reported that the investment fund Fortissimo is in negotiations to sell the pharmaceuticals company Katzat, which it acquired four years ago, to Dexel, Israel's second-largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, owned by the Oren family. Dexel will likely transfer Katzat's drug production to its own factories for efficiency reasons. If completed, the merger would remove yet another independent pharmaceutical company from the Israeli market.