303 LI Workers Fired, As Pharmaceutical Company Abruptly Shuts Down

AMITYVILLE, NY — Hundreds of employees of an Illinois-based pharmaceutical company — including 303 employees in Amityville — were laid off on Friday, after the company abruptly closed all of its operations, the Associated Press reported.

According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, filed with the New York State Department of Labor on Wednesday, 303 employees at Akorn Operating Company LLC, located at 369 Bayview Avenue, were fired.

The layoffs went into effect on Thursday.

The Illinois Department of Labor said Thursday that the agency is investigating the situation because Akorn didn’t file the required 60-day notice of mass layoffs or plant closures until Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

Akorn CEO Douglas Boothe told employees in a video that the company’s leaders decided on the move after failing to find a buyer for the company.

“I realize this is a tremendous shock and it will take time to absorb the news and what it means to you, your colleagues and your families,” Boothe said in the video, which was first obtained by the Decatur Herald & Review, the Associated Press reported.

Akorn’s Illinois locations include its corporate headquarters in Gurnee as well as manufacturing and research facilities in the Chicago suburb of Vernon Hills and in Decatur, in central Illinois. The company also has locations in New Jersey, New York and Switzerland.

The company developed, manufactured and marketed a wide array of branded and generic prescription drugs, including eye drops, injectables, oral liquids, inhalants and nasal sprays, according to its website. It also developed drugs for animals.

Patch has reached out to Akorn for more information and for comment.