North Country Responds To Devastating Pfizer Announcement

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - WPTZ.com

"Things happen, things leave, things close. Whether it's an Air Force base, paper mill or pharmaceutical company, the mark of a community is how it responds," said Gary Douglas of the North Country Chamber of Commerce.

How the North Country is responding to Pfizer's announcement it's reorganizing worldwide, meaning hundreds of jobs lost, is to gather area leaders and focus not what they can't do but what they can.

"Tremendous bipartisan effort come together, that's how communities solve problems. They get together, come up with solutions and elected officials help them implement it," said Congressman Bill Owens.

Facilities once owned by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Plattsburgh, Chazy and Rouses Point will be shut down over the next 18 months. All of those operations were bought by Pfizer just a few weeks ago.

A Pfizer Transitional Committee has been formed to address several immediate issues like finding the unemployed new jobs and marketing the soon empty facilities to interested companies.

"I can tell you when we did the manufacturing facility in Rouses Point, we first went after like businesses. I can anticipate Pfizer will do the same thing with these facilities. It is your best chance of selling them," said David Champagne of Pfizer.

Both the Plattsburgh and Chazy facilities are closing completely, affecting over 300 workers. According to an Akrimax official, only the "chemical plant" area of the Rouses Point facility is closing but the main portion will stay open.

Of the 550 people employed there about 200 will lose their jobs.

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