U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck says that it's abandoning its €1 billion ($1.17 billion) plan to expand its business in the United Kingdom, over concerns that the British government isn't providing the industry with adequate investments.

Known as MSD in Europe, the company now plans to move its life science research operations to the U.S. and slash jobs in the U.K., BBC News reports, despite Merck having already started construction on a new facility in London's King's Cross district. The facility was initially scheduled to open in 2027, but Merck no longer plans to occupy the space once it's finished. The company says that it will also clear out its laboratories in the London Bioscience Innovation Centre and the Francis Crick Institute by the end of 2025. 

Speaking to BBC News, a spokesperson for Merck said that the move reflects the challenges of the U.K. "not making meaningful progress" on investing in the life science industry, or properly valuing the development of new medicines and vaccines. U.K. Science Minister Ian Murray called the decision "deeply disappointing" during an address in the House of Commons, but acknowledged that it was also a "commercial decision" for Merck.

Merck has also faced pressure from the Trump administration to invest more in the United States' pharmaceutical sector, all while U.K. pharma companies have been getting a smaller proportion of National Health Service spending on drugs due to policies from previous Conservative and coalition governments.