Allergan Cutting 70 Jobs in County, 200 Worldwide

Allergan Inc., a maker of pharmaceuticals and eye- and skin-care products, is eliminating 200 jobs worldwide, about 70 of those in Orange County.

The job cuts are unrelated to the recession but are part of a companywide program to operate more efficiently, said Shel Holtz, an Allergan spokesman.

In Orange County, Allergan is cutting 55 jobs at a lens manufacturing plant in the Irvine Spectrum business park and 15 positions at its Irvine headquarters.

The company notified employees of the job cuts Tuesday and Wednesday, Holtz said. Thirty of the 200 jobs due to be eliminated are vacant positions that the company has decided not to fill.

Holtz said Allergan is attempting to find jobs within the company for the affected workers. He declined to estimate how many people actually will be laid off.

Allergan now employs 6,184 people worldwide.

The manufacturing layoffs in Irvine are part of a 4-year-old program to trim excess production capacity.