Sen. Carper Statement on AstraZeneca Decision

WILMINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) released the following statement on the announcement that AstraZeneca will reduce its Delaware workforce by 1,200 employees over the next two years:

“Today’s announcement by AstraZeneca is a body blow to our state and, most importantly, to the thousands of AstraZeneca employees who call Delaware home. As Governor, I led an amazing team effort to convince AstraZeneca to bring its North American headquarters to Delaware and to commit to growing its company in our state. I had faith that this was an effort that would create new, good-paying jobs, generate economic activity, and help build a better quality of life for thousands of high-skill workers in the First State. For years, AstraZeneca has been that good corporate citizen in Delaware, which is what makes this decision all the more painful for me and especially for those 650 men and women who will lose their jobs at the company and the additional 550 employees whose jobs will leave Delaware for other locations. On one hand, we are grateful that another option – the complete closure of operations in Delaware – was averted and that 2,300 jobs will remain in Delaware along with AstraZeneca’s global headquarters. I remain hopeful that AstraZeneca can eventually overcome this adversity and find new ways to make their company more competitive in the future, but this outcome is still deeply, deeply disappointing. But I like to quote Albert Einstein who said, ‘In adversity lies opportunity.’ In the face of such daunting news, pursuing opportunity can be challenging. But the Governor, our Congressional Delegation and I will be relentless in our efforts to recruit new industry and tenants to fill this hole that AstraZeneca is leaving behind, so hopefully neither the facilities nor these employees will be idle for long. Delaware is a prime place to do business because we have some of the best workers in the world, and any industry could and should succeed here in the First State.”