Westbury Drug Maker Loses $400K in Tax Breaks Over Job Shortfall

A Westbury drug manufacturer is set to forfeit roughly $400,000 in tax incentives after falling well short of the employment numbers it promised when it first received public support more than a decade ago.

P&L Development, which supplies store-brand medications to major retailers including CVS, Walmart, Target, and Costco, committed to employing 480 workers across three Westbury facilities and one in Hicksville by the end of 2025. When the numbers came in, the company had 346 employees on its books, a gap of 134 jobs.

The Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, which awarded P&L its original tax break package in 2013, voted earlier this year to accept a revised agreement with the company. Under the new terms, P&L will see its property tax savings reduced by approximately $50,000 annually for each of the next seven years, adding up to around $400,000 in lost benefits over that span.

The IDA had several options available under state law when P&L disclosed the shortfall. Agencies can claw back benefits already received, reduce future incentives, or simply monitor a client and wait to see if it gets back on track. The board, voting unanimously, chose the middle path.

P&L’s real estate attorney, Andrew Komaromi, flagged the problem to the IDA back in September, warning that the company expected to miss its employment commitment for 2025 and the years ahead. Weakened demand for its products and rising labor costs forced the company to lay off workers and leave positions unfilled. Efforts to reach P&L Development for comment were unsuccessful.

Along with accepting the reduced tax savings, P&L asked the IDA to lower its minimum job commitment to 320 employees for the next eight years. The company also requested that the IDA not pursue repayment of aid it had already received. The board agreed to both requests.

IDA Executive Director Sheldon L. Shrenkel framed the outcome as a practical compromise rather than a penalty.

“P&L Development remains a significant employer in Nassau County, and we want to work with the company to support its continued success here,” Shrenkel said. “The revised agreement ensures the company maintains meaningful job commitments while increasing payments to local taxing jurisdictions. This balanced approach keeps jobs in our region, strengthens our tax base, and reflects the IDA’s commitment to both accountability and economic stability.”

The case highlights a broader tension that runs through economic development programs across New York. Tax incentives are designed to attract and grow businesses, with the expectation that job creation will offset the revenue governments give up. But when companies hit hard times or markets shift, those pledges can become difficult to keep. The IDA model, at least in Nassau County, gives the agency some flexibility to adjust rather than simply punish.

P&L’s product lineup sits squarely in the everyday household staples category: cough and cold remedies, digestive products, and pain relievers sold under the store labels of the country’s biggest retail chains. That kind of business lives and dies with consumer demand, and the company cited softening demand as a key reason for its staffing cuts.

For the 346 workers still on P&L’s payroll, the revised deal at least provides some stability. The new minimum commitment of 320 jobs is lower than the current headcount, which means the company has a bit of cushion built in. Whether it rebuilds toward its original targets or holds steady at reduced levels will likely depend on how its retail contracts perform over the next several years.

The IDA’s willingness to negotiate rather than walk away reflects a calculated bet that keeping a manufacturer rooted in Nassau County, even at reduced capacity, is better than the alternative. Losing a facility entirely would mean losing all of the remaining jobs, along with the tax revenue, however reduced, that the company still generates.

For Westbury, a village that has long balanced its identity as a suburban community with a quiet industrial presence, P&L’s story is a reminder that economic development agreements come with conditions. And sometimes, those conditions require everyone to renegotiate.