It will be strange to look around in the latter half of 2021 at all the places that bear the Puskar/Mylan name — Milan Puskar Stadium, Milan Puskar Health Right, Mylan Park, Mylan Park Elementary School and the Mylan Park Aquatic Center — but to know that the Mylan Pharmaceuticals plant, which started it all, is gone.
We wish we could say we were shocked by last Friday’s announcement that the facility on Chestnut Ridge Road will be closed July 31, 2021, but we can’t. We knew once Milan “Mike” Puskar passed away it was only a matter of time before Mylan Pharmaceuticals left Morgantown. Over the years, we’ve watched waves of layoffs, knowing the plant here was hanging by the thread of Puskar’s memory. And when the merger between Mylan and Upjohn into Viatris finalized, we knew the Morgantown location was going to get the ax. It wasn’t a question of if, but when.
Despite its global reach, Puskar’s Mylan was still a local business. It employed local people and boosted the local economy. The Milan Puskar Foundation supports local causes and groups. Mylan was an industry giant with all the heart of a small business, in large part because it was locally owned and operated.
Now the new company, Viatris, is beholden first and foremost to shareholders. The chief financial officer, Sanjeev Narula, even said so: “Today’s announcement is a significant next step in ensuring Viatris meets the financial commitments it has made to shareholders and other key stakeholders.” Over the years, we’ve seen a shift in Mylan’s priorities, as C-Suite administrators took home millions in salary and bonuses. But now Viatris has articulated that its primary goal is to make as much money as possible for a select group of people. And “made in America” tends to cut into profit margins.
So, no, we are not surprised by the plant closure. But we are deeply disappointed to see a company that had been at the heart of Morgantown since 1965 be turned into yet another heartless, soulless, money-making machine. And we are devastated for the families who received the news of impending job losses right before Christmas.
We know that our county and state officials have already jumped into action, trying to soften the economic blow as much as possible. As they search for something to fill the void — whether that be to take over the existing plant or to build something new that can use the talents of Mylan’s former employees — we implore them to look for a company led by someone like Mike Puskar. Someone who will create a local business that does not lose sight of its workers and the community in its search for profits. We don’t want quality to be forsaken in the pursuit of finding something quickly.
Puskar’s Mylan was a cornerstone of our community for decades, specifically because it was locally owned. If we want to replicate the successful synergistic relationship between Morgantown and Mylan, we need to replace Mylan with a company whose leadership is as invested in our community as it is in the business.
