On January 21st, 2019, AstraZeneca inaugurated the extension of the group’s industrial site in the city of Dunkirk in Northern France. The launch was attended by Secretary of State to the Minister of the Economy and Finance, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, as part of the promotional event ‘Choose France,’ designed to promote foreign investment in France, which was held the same day in Versailles.
This is an example of foreign investment that creates activity and jobs
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Secretary of State to the Minister of the Economy and Finance
“Inauguration of the AstraZeneca extension in Dunkirk. EUR 135 million to create an automated production line with improved ergonomics for employees. This is an example of foreign investment that creates activity and jobs,” tweeted Pannier-Runacher during the event.
The factory is entirely dedicated to the production of inhaled treatments to treat asthma and other respiratory diseases and exports over 99 percent of its production to over 40 countries, but mainly to the United States. Announced in 2016, the EUR 135 million (USD 154 million) investment completed over three years includes the establishment of a new formulation laboratory that can produce 28 million units starting from 2019. Furthermore, the expansion has involved increasing the plant’s assembly and packaging lines and doubling its storage capacity through a new automated warehouse.
Xavier Bertrand, president of Hauts-de-France, the region in which Dunkirk is located, tweeted, “AstraZeneca France continues to grow! These are the entrepreneurs who create jobs, policies are there to create a pro-business ecosystem and in Hauts-de-France we believe in the industry! There is no large region and major country without industry”.
AstraZeneca France, the fourth largest subsidiary of the global group and largest in Europe in terms of turnover, employs nearly 1,000 people in France overall. The Dunkirk plant had 418 employees in 2017, 80 more than in 2015, and 50 additional jobs are expected by 2020 in the wake of this extension.
