15% workforce cuts by 2012 worldwide. The American pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. aims to achieve annual savings of 3.5 billion dollars in two years, of which 2.6-3 billion through the first phase of a new Merger Restructuring Program which complements the one already planned with the Schering-Plough merger.
The launch of the plan was announced yesterday by the multinational, on the occasion of the presentation of the financial results for the fourth quarter and for the full year 2009.
As of last December 31, Merck had around 100,000 employees internationally. The new 'slimming diet' will concern the 15% of employees, overall in the various areas of the group and on a global scale.
The elimination of around 2,500 vacant positions is also envisaged, again as part of the first phase of the new programme.
The downsizing of the workforce will take place primarily through the cutting of 'duplicate' positions in the sales area and in the administrative and organizational sectors, as well as through the consolidation of production activities and research and development operations.
Paola Olgiati – PharmaKronos . February 17, 2010
Merck, +65% net income in 2009
Merck & Co. ended fourth quarter 2009 with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) adjusted net income of $0.79, one cent above consensus, compared to $0.87 in fourth quarter 2008. The figure, specifies the pharmaceutical company in the statement released on its website, excludes some impacts of the merger with Schering-Plough. Full-year sales amounted to $27.4 billion (+15%) and net income $12.89 billion (+65%).
