Takeda to pack up Illinois HQ, nearly 1,000 workers to be affected

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co's logo is seen at its new headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon·Reuters
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(Reuters) - Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said on Wednesday it plans to shut its U.S. headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois and move it to the greater Boston area, following the closing of its Shire Plc acquisition.

The Deerfield site employs just under 1,000 people — about a fifth of its U.S. employees — and a number of them will be provided with job offers and/or relocation opportunities, a Takeda spokeswoman told Reuters on Wednesday.

The company did not provide specifics on what percentage of the affected employees may face job cuts.

"This move, while difficult, will allow closer collaboration across Takeda to best position our future pipeline for success. It will also simplify our existing Takeda U.S. operations," the spokeswoman said.

In May, Takeda agreed to buy London-listed Shire for 45.3 billion pounds ($62 billion), a deal that will make the firm closer to becoming a top 10 global drugmaker.

(Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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