Big pharma has always been a big breadwinner for the state, but Whitehouse Station based Merck is cutting in a big way. Today, Merck announced cuts of 11% of it’s workforce, about 7000 jobs, in addition to closing down 5 plants (I’m still trying to find out more information on locations). This, just on the heels of an 825 person cut announced last month.
Merck to Cut 7,000 Jobs, Close 5 Plants in Restructuring Plan
You can’t deny at least some impact to the NJ economy based on cuts of these proportions, and even more disconcerting is the fact that CEO Richard Clark called these actions only the first steps in restructuring.
Caveat Emptor,
Grim
Link to the Merck Press Release:
Merck Announces Initial Steps In Global Restructuring Program
jb
This is a bit late, but Pfizer also calling for cuts and closings.
But last week, Pfizer said it would close its Parsippany manufacturing plant, a fixture since 1957, laying off 125 people by the end of March and the entire 490-person work force in three years.
Despite Parsippany cuts, Pfizer keeps tax breaks
jb
Merck’s Rahway plant is certain to be hit. Count on it. That plant is too small to be efficient.
Also, Merck research is likely to be hit. The biggest site is again in Rahway.
But. hey it doesnt matter. We can all get rich selling houses to each other.
Lucent AT&T Verizon, Schering Plough Bristol Myers, Pfizer, Merck all laying off people for last few months years.
High paying jobs going away. Only so many banker and realtor builder landscaper and Mtg Broker jobs going to keep this speculative housing bubble from crashing and burning.Things are slowing for this group of bubbleheads.
Hold up there…they are not all laying off people. Many of these companies, especially the telecoms, laid of people years ago, before this real estate bubble really took off, so you can’t correlate layoffs with a depression in prices necessarily.
Actually, IMHO I think you can correlate it. Alot of people have refinanced to stay in place when 1 of the 2 earners have lost their jobs. It takes some time to go through the deathspiral on a loan when people can tread water for a while.
Although this is anectdotal, an article two years ago in the Morris Record was interviewing foodbanks and apparently some very pricy cars were being driven by their clients. When asked these people were doing the first rational thing, pay the mortgage. Then car and get free food. There are alot of people like this. This is when foodbanks had surpluses. Now the food banks are running out of food all the time.
If you want to see how dire it is check ou this article on nothing in the product pipeline for big Pharma
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2ODI3OTA1JnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==
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