FDA Finds Problems at Yet Another J&J Plant

We learned over the weekend that the FDA inspected ANOTHER J&J manufacturing facility and issued it an unacceptable (Form 483). This is just another sign of systemic manufacturing problems across all of J&J’s facilities worldwide. And it should be another wake-up call to consumers on the safety of all of J&J’s products.

Meanwhile, last Thursday, J&J issued their report to the FDA on how it will plan to fix its manufacturing mess. The company had promised transparency, so I was suspecting it to post its entire plan online (like other reputable pharmaceutical companies in the past). One thing is clear – transparency and being a reputable pharmaceutical company aren’t on J&J’s mind. Instead, J&J posted a brief statement on its blog (but only after I contacted J&J’s Marc Monseau and questioned the lack of information). As you might imagine, the statement doesn’t say anything and doesn’t address how the company plans to fix the mess.

The most significant step J&J will be taking – mass layoffs. This isn’t designed to fix manufacturing problems, rather, cut costs to preserve bonuses for J&J’s management. The company will kick over 300 employees to curb in September, giving them severance packages. The company then intends to re-hire at least some of these folks in 2011 (if the FDA ever lets them resume manufacturing). In other words, J&J is transferring financial responsibility for the employees from the company to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the next year. The company then anticipates hiring some of the employees back in 2011. I have to ask the question – is that the behavior of an ethical company? How does this square with the Credo (which reads: “We are responsible to our employees, the men and women who work with us throughout the world…They must have a sense of security in their jobs.”)


More background on the J&J manufacturing mess: