Philly.com: Merck's West Point Facility Is "Safe" According to CEO Frazier

Do go read it all, at Philly.com, but the reporting here in the Western Hemisphere is that Merck's West Point (unionized) facility is not among the facilities slated for closure, in the latest round of manufacturing facilities "rationalization" announced by Whitehouse Station.

. . . .Q: Is West Point safe?

"Yes," Frazier said Thursday evening after speaking about Merck's worldwide vaccine programs at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. "We have no plans to do anything with respect to West Point. It is still the hub of Merck manufacturing and research."

In October, Merck said it planned to leave its current headquarters in Whitehouse Station, N.J., with about 2,000 employees moving to three other existing locations in New Jersey. Most would move to a facility in Summit, which Merck inherited when it bought Schering Plough in 2009, with others going to facilities in Branchburg and Cokesbury. . . .

As ever, we will keep you posted. Do recall that -- in mid-2010 -- the USW skillfully avoided a showdown/strike at this facility (but not without some rancor). Good to see it will remain online, for all the affected families! Have a safe and happy NCAA Final Four weekend (and Go Louisville!). . . .