(AP)-Drug company Novartis has begun laying off workers at its plant east of Lincoln.

The Swiss drugmaker says in a statement it had notified 72 people that their positions have been eliminated. The company also won’t fill 41 positions that had been open.

The positions are in technical operations, engineering and quality.

The job cuts are part of a plan Novartis announced last month to cut 300 jobs from its workforce of 750 in Lincoln. More layoffs are planned in early 2014 and a final round will occur in 2015.

The layoffs follow inspections by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that found problems with quality control and complaint resolution at the plant.