Maker of sterile bags for drug companies cutting 91 jobs, moving Concord work to Puerto Rico

Sartorius Stedim SUS Inc., which makes sturdy, IV-like, single-use bags used by drug manufacturers, is closing its Concord plant beginning this month and moving operations to an expanded facility in Puerto Rico. Ninety-one people will lose their jobs in the move, with the first wave expected this month, according to an August letter from the company to Stephen Bailer, executive director of the Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa County. The plant closing process will be completed by the end of April 2013. "We have a great workforce there and we're lucky to have such a committed, long-tenured team," said Sartorius President Mary Lavin in New York. "But we needed to expand."