Roughly 500 jobs are to go at pharma giant Pfizer’s Kent site.

The roles are to be cut as Pfizer is discontinuing its pharmaceutical sciences small molecule (PSSM) operations at Sandwich in Kent, the company confirmed to Sky News.

It’s part of a company-wide cost-cutting program, Pfizer said.

Affected staff were notified on Tuesday morning and consultation with these employees is under way.

“Various areas of Pfizer’s global enterprise are making changes to operate more efficiently and effectively,” a spokesperson said.

“These changes will be implemented on a rolling basis and will differ area to area.”

It’s understood the roles will be moved to India and the United States.

“More information around this global program will be shared over the coming months and as part of the full year guidance for 2024,” Pfizer added.