Pfizer Division Relocating Within Giralda Farms

Pfizer's Consumer Healthcare headquarters is relocating, but it's not leaving Madison.

It's not even leaving the Giralda Farms office campus.

The pharmaceutical company signed a lease last week to use three floors at 1 Giralda Farms, with around 475 Pfizer employees expected to be working there by the end of the year or early next year, Pfizer spokeswoman Joan Campion said Monday.

Pfizer announced in March it was selling its office at 5 Giralda Farms and the 1,000 employees who worked there would be relocated. The new lease, for approximately 120,000 square feet, means almost half those jobs are staying in the borough.

Madison Mayor Bob Conley said he was happy to get the call on Thursday about the deal.

"It was great news to hear," he said Monday. "We had known for a while they were hoping to be able to stay in Madison. They recognize Madison is a great location for a corporation. ... We're looking forward to continuing a great relationship with Pfizer for many years to come."

The employees who are leaving Madison include 400 employees of Pfizer's animal health subsidiary, Zoetis. They are moving to an office building off Park Avenue in Florham Park. And employees of Pfizer's nutrition division were moving to Nestle HealthCare Nutrition's headquarters on Vreeland Road in Florham Park after Nestle bought the division.

Pfizer had said the Consumer Healthcare employees would be relocating nearby, but the location had not been finalized.

"We’re pleased that Pfizer’s new Consumer Healthcare headquarters location will remain within Giralda Farms," Campion said. "Pfizer is committed to maintaining its presence in New Jersey, given the state’s support for the biopharmaceutical industry and economic incentives to attract jobs."

For employees, the new location means they'll need to head in a different direction upon entering Giralda Farms.

"Instead of left, make a right," the mayor said.