Global pharmaceutical company Pfizer has ceased its commercial operations in Nigeria, leaving its commercial employees redundant, according to internal company documents reviewed by West Africa Weekly.
The obtained documents confirm that affected employees have received formal redundancy notifications, signaling a significant restructuring of Pfizer’s business operations in the country. While the company has initiated layoffs, it has yet to finalize severance packages for affected staff.
In an email dated January 13, Olubukola Oparinde, Manager of People Experience at SSA Biopharma, acknowledged employee concerns regarding the shutdown. She assured that leadership would provide further feedback. Employees were issued redundancy notification letters, which they were required to acknowledge as confirmation of their job losses.
Further communication on January 15 instructed affected employees to sign off on the notifications, clarifying that these were not final redundancy agreements. The company also stated that severance details were still pending additional approvals.
A subsequent email on February 12, addressed to an employee, included severance computation details, indicating that discussions on employee compensation were still ongoing.
Following the shutdown, impacted employees are entitled to severance benefits, including redundancy payments, final salary disbursements, and other entitlements as outlined in their contracts and Nigerian labour laws. However, concerns have been raised about whether Pfizer will fully meet these obligations.
This development comes as Nigeria faces ongoing economic difficulties, with several multinational corporations either reducing their operations or exiting the market entirely, leading to widespread job losses.