Albany Molecular looks to Asia as it chops U.S. staff

Just a day after Charles River Laboratories' CEO was touting the cheaper, better educated workers it could hire in China, Albany Molecular Research cut 80 contract research jobs in the U.S. as it pushed ahead with plans to hire 180 in India and Singapore.

"Our customers are asking for this, and this is where the demand is," AMRI spokeswoman Andrea Schulz told the Albany Times-Union. The contract research operation is investing $30 million in Asia as it consolidates labs in the U.S., cutting about 10 percent of its workforce. Less than a years ago AMRI laid off about 40 workers, most close to its Albany, NY headquarters.

"These actions reflect the focus by our customers on cost of services amid a highly competitive environment coming primarily from Asia," said AMRI CEO Thomas E. D'Ambra. "This has led to a continued shift in demand for AMRI's services from the US to lower cost resources in Asia and Europe. While we remain cautiously optimistic about a return in demand for contract research outsourcing by the biopharmaceutical industry, softness in the US market has extended beyond our expectations. The actions we are taking today are part of our on-going commitment to tightly manage costs while also managing our infrastructure to support future growth and development."

- check out the press release
- here's the story from the Albany Times-Union