AstraZeneca unveils plans for £37bn investment in US amid tariff threats
It will also expand research and development (R&D) and cell therapy manufacturing in Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Indiana and Texas.
The announcement marks the latest by a global pharmaceutical giant to expand its footprint in the US as Mr Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 20% on drug imports in an effort to increase manufacturing in America and drive down costs for Americans.
AstraZeneca said the mammoth investment will create tens of thousands of jobs across the US, 'powering growth and delivering next-generation medicines for patients in America and worldwide'.
The Anglo-Swedish group, which is listed on the FTSE 100, said the investment will also help it towards the group's target of reaching 80 billion US dollars (£59.4 billion) in revenues by 2030.
Half of this is expected to come from the US, it added.
Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, said: 'Today's announcement underpins our belief in America's innovation in biopharmaceuticals and our commitment to the millions of patients who need our medicines in America and globally.'
Despite being headquartered in the UK, America is AstraZeneca's largest market, where it employs more than 18,000 staff and makes 42% of total group sales.
It already has 19 R&D, manufacturing and commercial sites across the country.
The new factory planned for Virginia will produce drug substances for the company's weight management and metabolic portfolio, it said.
Howard Lutnick, US Secretary of Commerce, said: 'For decades Americans have been reliant on foreign supply of key pharmaceutical products.
'President Trump and our nation's new tariff policies are focused on ending this structural weakness.
'We are proud that AstraZeneca has made the decision to bring substantial pharmaceutical production to our shores.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Trump administration formally axes Elon Musk's 'five things' email
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday formally axed a program launched by billionaire former Trump adviser Elon Musk requiring federal employees to summarize their five workplace achievements from the prior week, as first reported by Reuters. The Office of Personnel Management, the federal human resources agency that implemented Musk's push to slash the federal workforce, announced the end of the "five things" email via a memo that rescinds guidance instructing workers to comply with the initiative. "At OPM, we believe that managers are accountable to staying informed about what their team members are working on and have many other existing tools to do so," OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement, adding the agency told government HR representatives that OPM would no longer manage the process nor use it internally. While many federal agencies had already phased out compliance with the weekly email, the move signals the Trump administration is turning the page on one of Musk's most unpopular initiatives following a falling out between the two men in early June. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Musk, who spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump win November's presidential election, led the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to slash the budget and cut the federal workforce until his departure in May to refocus on his tech empire. Musk initially received a warm White House sendoff from Trump, but then incurred the president's wrath by describing Trump's tax cut and spending bill as an abomination. Trump pulled the nomination of Musk ally and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA and later threatened to cancel billions of dollars worth of federal contracts with Musk's companies after the blowup between the two men. The "five things" email, launched by Musk in February to boost accountability, sparked tensions with department chiefs who were blindsided by the weekend email mandating the move. It also fueled confusion among government workers who received mixed messages about whether and how to comply. Reuters reported in March that the White House installed two Trump loyalists at OPM to ensure better policy coordination between the White House and the agency. Scott Kupor, a venture capitalist who took the helm at OPM in July, foreshadowed the end of the initiative last month, describing processing of the weekly response emails as "very manual" and "not efficient." It is "something that we should look at and see, like, are we getting the value out of it that at least the people who put it in place thought they were," he said.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Trump administration to formally axe Elon Musk's 'five things' email
The Trump administration plans as soon as Tuesday to formally axe a programme launched by billionaire former Trump adviser Elon Musk requiring federal employees to summarise their five workplace achievements from the prior week, two people familiar with the matter said. The Office of Personnel Management, the federal human resources agency that implemented Mr Musk's push to slash the federal workforce, plans to announce the end of the "five things" email to HR representatives across the federal government later on Tuesday, the two people said, declining to be named because the matter was not public. Advertisement While many federal agencies had already phased out compliance with the weekly email, the move, not previously reported, signals the Trump administration is turning the page on one of Mr Musk's most unpopular initiatives following a dramatic row between the two men in early June. The White House and OPM did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mr Musk, who spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Mr Trump win November's presidential election, led the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to slash the budget and cut the federal workforce until his departure in May to refocus on his tech empire. Mr Musk initially received a warm White House sendoff from Mr Trump, but then incurred the president's wrath by describing Mr Trump's tax cut and spending bill as an abomination. Advertisement Mr Trump pulled the nomination of Musk ally and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA and later threatened to cancel billions of dollars worth of federal contracts with Musk's companies after the blowup between the two men. The "five things" email, launched by Mr Musk in February to boost accountability, sparked tensions with department chiefs who were blindsided by the weekend email mandating the move. It also fuelled confusion among government workers who received mixed messages about whether and how to comply. Reuters reported in March that the White House installed two Trump loyalists at OPM to ensure better policy coordination between the White House and the agency. Scott Kupor, a venture capitalist who took the helm at OPM in July, foreshadowed the end of the initiative last month, describing processing of the weekly response emails as "very manual" and "not efficient". It is "something that we should look at and see, like, are we getting the value out of it that at least the people who put it in place thought they were," he said.
Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
BP increases staff cuts to 6,200 and signals further possible reductions
The oil giant said it now expects 6,200 jobs to go – about 15% of its office-based workforce – which is higher than the 4,700 cuts announced at the start of the year, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) to help drive cost efficiencies. BP also said it had already slashed 3,200 contractor roles since January, with another 1,200 to go by the end of 2025, adding it will 'continue to rigorously review the remaining contractor activity across our businesses and functions'. The group raised the possibility of further cuts as bosses unveiled plans to look for more cost savings and conduct a 'thorough' review of its portfolio as it comes under pressure from shareholders. Its 100,000-strong worldwide workforce will be reviewed further as part of the new push, it confirmed. BP did not give a country breakdown of the extra job cuts this year, but said they will go across its UK and overseas sites. The firm employed about 14,000 UK workers at the start of 2025. It comes as chief executive Murray Auchincloss pledged the FTSE 100 firm would do 'better for its investors' and said there was 'much more to do' under its current three-year plan. BP has been under pressure from shareholders to boost profits and cut costs, with activist investor Elliott Management recently taking a 5% stake in the group. Half-year profits on Tuesday showed profits tumbled by nearly a third as weaker oil prices weighed on earnings, although it posted a better-than-expected performance for the second quarter. It reported a 32% fall in underlying replacement cost profits – the group's preferred profit measure – to 3.73 billion US dollars (£2.81 billion) for the six months to June 30. 2Q has been another strong quarter, both operationally and strategically. We are delivering our plan to grow the upstream and focus the downstream. — bp (@bp_plc) August 5, 2025 Underlying profits fell 15% year-on-year to 2.35 billion dollars (£1.77 billion) between April and June, although this was a significant improvement from 1.38 billion dollars (£1.04 billion) in the first quarter and better than most analysts had forecast, helping shares lift nearly 2%. BP is already working on a plan announced in February to cut costs by up to five billion dollars (£3.8 billion) by the end of 2027. It has also said it will offload 20 billion dollars (£15.1 billion) of assets by the end of 2027. The group's results showed it has already stripped out 900 million dollars (£677 million) in costs over the first half, or 1.7 billion dollars (£1.3 billion) since 2023. BP's aims to ramp up its overhaul process follows talks with incoming chairman Albert Manifold who starts next month, Mr Auchincloss said. Mr Auchincloss said: 'He and I have been in discussions and have agreed that we will conduct a thorough review of our portfolio of businesses to ensure we are maximising shareholder value moving forward. 'We are also initiating a further cost review and, whilst we will not compromise on safety, we are doing this with a view to being best in class in our industry.' 'BP can and will do better for its investors,' he added. In a presentation to analysts and investors, Mr Auchincloss said AI was playing a key part in its overhaul, adding 'technology is helping improve capital productivity and drive cost reductions across the portfolio'. In another move to appease shareholders, the FTSE 100 firm also said it would buy back another 750 million dollars (£565 million) in shares and hike the quarterly dividend payout by 4%. Mr Auchincloss said: 'We are two quarters into a 12-quarter plan and are laser-focused on delivery of our four key targets – and while we should be encouraged by our early progress, we know there's much more to do.' Mr Manifold was recently named to replace incumbent chairman Helge Lund after a difficult past few years in the role. Formerly chief executive of building materials firm CRH for 10 years, Mr Manifold joins the oil giant as chairman-elect on September 1 before taking over as chairman on October 1.
