Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche announced Tuesday that it plans to invest $50 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, offering 12,000 new jobs.
The Basel-based company, known for its cancer treatments and multiple sclerosis medication Ocrevus, said the funds will be directed toward high-tech research and development centers and new manufacturing facilities in states such as California, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
Some of the investments have already been initiated or are scheduled for the coming years, Roche spokesperson Rebekka Schnell stated in an email, though the company did not disclose how much of the $50 billion was newly announced on Tuesday.
The announcement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has urged foreign businesses to invest more in the U.S., and announced sweeping tariffs earlier this month on imports in hopes of reducing a large U.S. trade deficit when it comes to goods sales.
Before the Trump administration scaled back its most stringent tariff proposals, Swiss imports were poised to face additional tariffs of up to 31%, significantly higher than the 20% tariffs planned for European Union goods. Switzerland, while not a member of the 27-nation EU bloc, is geographically encircled by EU countries.
Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2 set off turmoil in world stock markets. A week later, Trump spoke by phone with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter in a conversation that her office said focused on tariffs. She emphasized the "important role of Swiss companies and investments in the United States.”
Hours later, the U.S. president announced the U-turn that paused the steep new tariffs on about 60 countries for 90 days, fanning speculation, which was not confirmed, in some Swiss media that her chat with Trump might have played a role in the change of course.
Roche, in its statement, said that once the new, expanded manufacturing comes on line, the company "will export more medicines from the U.S. than it imports” - though it made no mention of tariffs.
"Today’s announced investments underscore our longstanding commitment to research, development, and manufacturing in the U.S.,” said Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker in a statement.
Company spokesperson Schnell, in the email, said "we have conducted a thorough analysis of potential scenarios over the last weeks and are well prepared to navigate them, apply mitigation measures and adapt to the changing environment.” She said the investments "have also been aligned with the Swiss government and form part of the ongoing discussions between the U.S. and Switzerland.”
The company, like cross-town competitor Novartis, has deep ties to the U.S. market and said it currently employs 25,000 people and operates 15 R&D centers and 13 manufacturing sites in the U.S.
The planned investment will add 1,000 jobs at Roche in the U.S. and "more than 11,000 in support of new U.S. manufacturing capabilities,” it said, which will increase its footprint in the United States to 24 sites in eight states.
Roche tallied more than 60 billion Swiss francs (about $74 billion) in worldwide sales last year, and nearly 25 billion francs of sales in its key pharmaceuticals division alone came in the United States. Roche’s share price has fallen by about 18% over the past month, with most of the drop coming after the U.S. tariff announcement on April 2.
