THESE workers at a pharmaceutical company in Hampshire are pictured happily preparing for last Sunday's record-breaking Race for Life.

But just two days after taking part in the charity event in Southampton, raising money in the fight against cancer, their sense of achievement has been overshadowed by jobs uncertainty.

The women here are among nearly 200 employees trying to come to terms with their company's controversial plan to relocate 75 miles away.

As reported in later editions of the Daily Echo yesterday, Pfizer wants to move its consumer healthcare operations from Eastleigh to its state-of-the-art £75m commercial headquarters in Surrey.

The company, which sells and markets household brands like Calpol, the children's pain relief medicine, and mouthwash Listerine, is now embarking on a three-month consultation with staff.

It is not known yet how many employees at the Eastleigh base will be worse or better off with the envisaged relocation to Pfizer's HQ at Walton Oaks, near Tadworth. One member of staff said: "We were told today not to comment."

A number of staff already commute from London and its outskirts, so Walton Oaks would be nearer for them.

However, other employees who live in and around Eastleigh would face a gruelling and costly round-trip drive of 150 miles a day.

For those wanting to take the train, the commute would be even more daunting.

The total train travelling time from Southampton Parkway station to Tadworth and back is more than four and a half hours, involving three changes each way. Andy Rush, the vice president of Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, has sought to reassure staff and families by saying bosses are committed to listening to, and addressing, any concerns they may have.

A company spokesman said: "A final decision will be announced once the consultation period has been completed.

"It's not about redundancies or downsizing at all; it's about Walton Oaks and centralising operations there."

More than 2.7 million people use a Pfizer medicine every day. The company - the biggest pharmaceutical in the UK - directly employs more than 6,000 people in the UK, including 198 at Eastleigh and 550 at Walton Oaks, which is based in a 320-acre countryside estate.