GSK to close its Kenya production plant with loss of jobs

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Britain’s GSK will close its production facility in Kenya with the loss of an unspecified number of jobs, the Business Daily newspaper reported on Thursday.

The pharmaceutical major joins other global firms like Unilever (NYSE:), which have shut production in the East African nation in recent years because of high costs, such as for electricity.

GSK will shift to a third-party distribution of its products in Kenya from next year, the newspaper reported, citing information provided by the firm.

GSK did not respond immediately when Reuters sought to confirm the plan. Some of the firms that stopped producing in the Kenyan market opted to supply it from plants elsewhere on the continent like Egypt, Nigeria or South Africa.