Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is investing $225 million to expand operations in 4 existing plants in Puerto Rico, the company and the governor of the U.S. island territory said.
The company will add capacity in 2 plants in the town of Gurabo and 1 each in Manati and San Lorenzo, 1 of which is for medical devices and 3 are for Janssen pharmaceutical, spokesman Stephen Dnistrian told the Associated Press.
The company said the expansion would add 308 jobs in the country, which currently has an unemployment rate of 13.5%. One of J&J’s stent-making facilities in Puerto Rico received a pair of warning letters in 2010 from the U.S. FDA about quality issues and cut nearly 200 jobs in the past year at an over-the-counter drug plant in Puerto Rico.
Johnson & Johnson said last month that it planned to launch 4 new international innovation centers in Boston, San Francisco, London and China to "accelerate early innovation and enhance opportunities for collaboration and investment across its global healthcare businesses," according to a company statement.
Headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Johnson & Johnson has 250 operating companies in 60 countries and has employed approximately 128,000 people around the world, according to the company’s website.
Founded in 1886, Johnson & Johnson has grown into the world’s largest healthcare company through mergers, acquisitions and the formation of new companies, the company said.
