A “crucial” meeting is expected to be held tomorrow over the future of 43 Arrow Pharm employees who may be made redundant.

The talks, being held at the request of the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, will be attended by Arrow Pharm management and Economy Minister Chris Cardona.

The minister requested that company management also attends

UĦM manufacturing section secretary Ivan Castillo told The Sunday Times of Malta that the meeting, which he described as crucial, is the first step towards finding solutions to possibly avoid workers’ redundancy. The workers are employed in the packaging department.

The management has not yet given the union the definite number of people who will lose their jobs because it is awaiting direction from the foreign mother company.

The decision to restructure its packaging department was taken because volumes were expected to halve, despite a steady production volume.

Mr Castillo said the union had first requested a meeting with Dr Cardona over the issue. Upon accepting, the minister requested that the company management also attends the meeting.

Arrow Pharm started operations in Malta in 2003 with 15 employees. The workforce grew to 250 by 2011 when it announced a €3.3 million investment to extend its premises in Ħal-Far.

In 2009, Arrow Pharm became part of the Watson Group, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the US. Last year, Watson Group merged with Actavis which also has a presence in Malta.

Last month, another manufacturing firm, Nylon Knitting, decided to reduce the production week to four days from January.