Merck Plans to Lay Off About 15% of Workers

Natasha Singer
New York Times
07/08/2010

The $41 billion merger last year of the drug giants Merck and Schering-Plough has a human cost for pharmaceutical industry employees.

Merck plans to lay off about 15 percent of its work force — about 15,000 people — over the next two years as part of a global merger restructuring, according to an announcement the company issued on Thursday. Merck said it also planned to close eight research and eight manufacturing sites worldwide.

The restructuring is expected to save $2.7 billion to $3.1 billion in 2012, the company said. Meanwhile, the pretax cost of the initial phase of the cost-cutting program is expected to range from $3.5 billion to $4.3 billion, much of it in severance packages for employees.

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About the author

VT

Jeffry John Aufderheide is the father of a child injured as a result of vaccination. As editor of the website www.vactruth.com he promotes well-educated pediatricians, informed consent, and full disclosure and accountability of adverse reactions to vaccines.