ICN to lay off 100 people but also make acquisitions

International pharmaceutical company ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. will lay off 100 employees from its Rzeszow plant but at the same time is interested in further acquisitions in Poland. ICN took over Polfa Rzeszow in 1997 and will lay off some 100 out of the 710-strong workforce. "The layoffs are a necessary element of restructuring, resulting from the need to adjust the company's structure to market requirements. We are now making a transition from a production company to a production-distribution company," said ICN Polfa Rzeszow president Tadeusz Pietrasz. ICN says it will fulfill its privatization obligations and every laid off employee will receive not only severance pay but also compensation. ICN owns 90% of shares in the Polish company, but it plans to increase its stake to 98% by buying out employee shares. ICN intends to increase its involvement in Poland by acquiring the Polish unit of a foreign pharmaceutical company, but it would not disclose any details. ICN Polfa Rzeszow ranks eighth on the Polish pharmaceutical market with a 2.3% market share. (Puls Biznesu, page 6) T.J.