Sanofi employees in Bangladesh plan hunger strike protest

In September, Sanofi announced that after 60 years of operating in Bangladesh, the company is planning to leave the country. Now, Sanofi’s workforce in Bangladesh is demanding compensation packages and threatening to take extreme measures if the demands aren’t met. 

According to local media, employees at the French multinational’s Bangladesh site formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club earlier this week to bring attention to the issue. The 1,000-strong workforce has also given Sanofi a deadline of Oct. 31 to promise compensation or employees will go on a “symbolic hunger strike.”

Sanofi is reportedly planning to handover its share of the Bangladeshi operations to another company, but the employees say they’ve received no assurances that they’ll be able to keep their jobs.  

For the past few years, Sanofi has been the biggest pharma company in Bangladesh, but the company has reportedly lost market share there. GlaxoSmithKline also announced last year that it plans to exit the country.

Read the local report.