[비즈한국] Celltrion068270 has officially announced the adoption of robots and AI (artificial intelligence) at its core production facilities, signaling a restructuring of employment patterns within the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.
Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin stated at the company's 35th regular shareholders' meeting held at Songdo Convensia in Incheon on the 24th, "If the price per robot is under 70 million won, they will be introduced into Plants 4 and 5," adding, "Robots could also be deployed in existing factories."
Prior to the shareholders' meeting that day, Celltrion announced plans to invest 1.2265 trillion won in its Songdo campus to simultaneously expand Plants 4 and 5, each with a capacity of 180,000 liters. The plan aims to maximize production efficiency and flexibility by applying cutting-edge automation systems and smart factory technology to proactively respond to the surging demand for pharmaceutical CMO (Contract Manufacturing Organization) capacity.
However, he hinted that the expansion of robot and AI technology could lead to a future contraction in employment. Chairman Seo remarked, "As AI handles all the support tasks, the scale of new hires will decrease, and we will have no choice but to hire mainly experienced workers," adding, "Nationally, this could lead to serious employment issues."
On this day, Celltrion also raised the expansion scale of its production facility located in Branchburg, New Jersey, recently acquired from Eli Lilly, from the original 66,000 liters to 75,000 liters. Once the expansions of the domestic and Branchburg facilities are complete, Celltrion's production capacity in terms of DS (Drug Substance) will increase from 316,000 liters to 571,000 liters.
The company plans to cover part of the expansion funding with treasury shares. As of December 31 of last year, Celltrion held 5.34% (12,336,466 shares) of its own stock. Based on the closing price on the 23rd, this is worth approximately 2.323 trillion won. During the meeting, Celltrion decided to incinerate 9.11 million shares, equivalent to 4%. The remaining 3,226,466 shares will be sold to fund the expansion. However, the company stated that it would minimize market impact by selling them under conditions such as a lock-up period.
Celltrion is also facing a critical juncture in its leadership following the recent resignation of founding member Kim Hyoung-ki, Vice Chairman and Head of the Global Sales Division, for personal reasons. Moving away from the previous three-person CEO system, Woo Sung-kee, head of the Manufacturing and Development Division, was reappointed as an executive director at the meeting, and the company is expected to transition to a two-person CEO system along with Seo Jin-seok, Head of the Business Division and Chairman of the Board. Chairman Seo stated he would oversee the vacancy left by Vice Chairman Kim for the time being, emphasizing, "I will take over the sales duties previously handled by Vice Chairman Kim for now," and added, "While many ask about Woo Sung-kee's retirement, his role is crucial given the many pending issues such as the facility expansions."
Although the shareholders' meeting was originally scheduled to be presided over by the CEO, Chairman Seo took the chair himself following board approval to faithfully relay the impact of recent changes in the external environment and response strategies to the shareholders.
With the ongoing wars involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran leading to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20-30% of global crude oil passes—concerns over the global energy market are growing, while macroeconomic uncertainty is adding pressure for rising exchange rates.
However, Chairman Seo expressed confidence that the impact on Celltrion would be minimal. He said, "While electricity costs may be affected by rising oil prices, the prescription drug sector is barely impacted by economic conditions. Moreover, as our primary markets are advanced nations like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, there will be no hit to sales," adding, "As an export-oriented company, a rising exchange rate is actually favorable for us."
At the meeting with shareholders held after the general meeting, questions were also raised regarding 'Anagram,' which was recently reported exclusively by Bizhankook. Celltrion shareholders asked if Celltrion's funds were being funneled into Anagram and what its relationship with Celltrion was.
Bizhankook recently reported that Chairman Seo’s eldest son, Celltrion CEO Seo Jin-seok, and his second son, Senior Vice Chairman Seo Joon-seok, each invested 50% to establish 'Anagram,' a corporation with business objectives including 'real estate auction and public sale bidding,' 'real estate trading,' 'real estate sales,' 'real estate consulting,' 'database development and sales,' 'software maintenance,' and 'management consulting' (Related article: [Exclusive] Eyes on 'Anagram,' a Private Corporation Owned by Celltrion Second Generation Seo Jin-seok and Seo Joon-seok).
Since real estate and software are fields with little overlap with Celltrion Group, questions were raised about the purpose of establishing Anagram. Regarding this, Chairman Seo dismissed it by saying, "I asked CEO Seo Jin-seok, and he said it was a company created by the brothers because they wanted to try investing. It is a company unrelated to Celltrion."
CEO Seo Jin-seok also personally stepped forward, explaining, "Anagram is a company that conducts business unrelated to Celltrion. Industry codes can be registered in various ways, and we included real estate trading among our business purposes because it was judged as necessary for business, such as purchasing real estate for future factory operations." He clarified that he would not participate in the management of Anagram and would instead focus on Celltrion.