If Pfizer leaves NYC, will it start a trend? WNYC reports.
This week New York-based Pfizer announced plans to buy British drugmaker AstraZeneca, and then re-incorporate in Britain. The pharmaceutical giant will take advantage of lower corporate tax rates in the U.K. while keeping its Manhattan headquarters. It’s a sign that the city could have trouble keeping other multinational corporations that currently call New York home. Pfizer has deep roots in New York, reaching back to before the Civil War. As recently as 2003, it looked as if Pfizer’s future in the city was bright. That year, the company committed to hire 2,000 new staff in exchange for a city subsidy package worth $46 million.
But in the last few years, Pfizer has paid back part of that subsidy as it's laid off workers, sold off real estate and retreated to its headquarters on East 42nd Street….