Health firm Medco Health marks final, 'sad' day
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
BY IRVIN KITTRELL III
Of The Patriot-News
About 90 people left Medco Health Solutions for the final time as the company announced yesterday was the last day of business for the mail-order pharmaceutical company.
The company had said in February that it would close the Lower Allen Twp. business April 8.
Of the 600 employees who worked there previously, less than 100 were there yesterday for the final day, said an employee who asked that his name not be used.
"It was sad," the employee said. "A lot of people worked together for years and years; it was like a family."
Medco did provide workers with a severance package, employees said.
Jeff Simek, vice president of public affairs, said yesterday was the "last full day of operations." He said a group of about 30 workers will remain over the next several weeks to complete administrative tasks and other details of closing a plant.
About 40 employees at the Lower Allen Twp. facility have received transfers to other company pharmacies, Simek said.
Simek said the company decided to consolidate work from smaller pharmacies and to place it in larger pharmacies. Leading to the closing of the plant were the company's lease expiring at the end of the year and loss of a national account that was handled by the Lower Allen Twp. facility, the company said.
Medco Health, based in Franklin Lakes, N.J., is wholly owned by Merck & Co. and independently run. Merck is a pharmaceutical giant based in Whitehouse Station, N.J.
