Tonawanda's Pine Pharmaceuticals lays off quarter of workforce

TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) – Pine Pharmaceuticals of Tonawanda confirmed Thursday that it has laid off 58 employees, or about 25% of its workforce, due to "unforeseen business circumstances."

The company had no further comment. The announcement comes just two years after the state celebrated an $8.6 million expansion of Pine's operation.

"The drug outsourcing company tripled the size of its facility at Riverview Solar Technology Park following the company's tremendous growth in the past three years," Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said in the 2022 announcement. "The expansion has allowed Pine to add almost 90 new, full-time permanent employees, doubling its initial projections and overall full-time permanent workforce. Empire State Development has agreed to support this project with up to $650,000 in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits."

Pine Pharmaceuticals made two voluntary recalls in 2023, according to the American Society of Retina Specialists, which published a letter from the company to customers that cited "a potential lack of sterility assurance for products intended to be sterile, resultant from a step in the inspection process isolated to the affected batches."

This is a developing story.