Pharmaceutical giant's layoffs generate rage in Israel
Instead of making populistic statements and pretending to save Teva workers from layoff, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must focus on major changes that help the workers who are about to lose their jobs.
The general strike announced on Dec. 13 by Israeli Labor Union Chair Avi Nissenkorn, in response to the mass layoffs at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, will not turn things around. The Israeli pharmaceutical giant is in a deep crisis, fighting for its life, and if it does not become more efficient and carry out aggressive rehabilitation steps, it will not be able to survive.
Nissenkorn knows this, as do the leaders of the powerful labor unions at the company plants in Israel. Yet on Dec. 17, Israel’s whole public sector, health services and banks ground to a halt from early morning until noon. Flights in and out of the country were also suspended. The cost of this strike is estimated at hundreds of millions of shekels.
In his interviews, Nissenkorn explained: "The solidarity strike to save the Israeli industry sends a clear message of mutual responsibility and support of Israeli businesses … and it protests the silence of anyone who abuses government resources and sends thousands of families into the cycle of welfare stipends. … We will not let that happen. This is a difficult time, but we are fighting for Israel's social image, and we are determined and united in our battle.”
These statements, formulated by political media advisers, were probably intended mainly to demonstrate to the powerful labor unions — Nissenkorn’s base — some kind of activism vis-a-vis the government and the heads of Teva. But the emperor has no clothes, as these are all empty and basically populist statements. The negotiations to be held over the coming days and weeks with Teva's management, under the auspices of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will not significantly change the scope of the layoffs — around 1,700 employees in Israel alone by 2019.
