The scheme which closed in early December 1999, offered up to Rs 5 lakh (non-taxable benefit), besides a taxable benefit of roughly Rs 3 lakh to the eligible employees at Thane. Assuming that all 300 employees were entitled to Rs 5 lakh, the outgo (at the upper end) for the company would be Rs 15 crore, though this could not be confirmed.

The scheme was open to all employees who have completed 10 years of continuous service or 40 years of age.

Sources say that with this reduction in manpower the company has now managed to achieve optimum level of staff requirements at the factory. Pfizer's official spokesperson confirmed the completion of the VRS but did not indicate the exact number of employees who had opted for the scheme.Analysts said that the latest VRS would translate into long-term savings on employee cost and comes at a time when the parent company plans to manufacture and market a range of new products via the Indian affiliate.

Currently, Pfizer has two operational facilities -at Thane and at Chandigarh- following the closure of its Ankleshwar unit effective July 31, 1999. In its annual report for 1997-98, Pfizer had said that it in view of its decision to either sell or close or cease its operations at the Ankleshwar facility by December 31, 1999, it had re-evaluated the useful life of its fixed assets there. An additional depreciation of Rs 4.47 crore had hence been charged to the profit and loss account during that period.

While the closure of the Ankleshwar unit was part of an exercise to restructure the company's manufacturing operations in the country, the company had, in 1996, sold its Kalyani unit in West Bengal to the Delhi-based Dabur for roughly Rs 9.91 crore (net of stamp duties and taxes).