Merck

Merck & Co. will lay off personnel by the end of October, according to a company e-mail to staff, as the pharmaceutical giant continues cutting its workforce. The company, with about 12,000 workers in the Philadelphia area, said July 29 that it planned to cut 12 percent to 13 percent of its workforce of about 100,000 by 2015 as it adjusts to market conditions and its 2009 acquisition of Schering Plough. "Merck is facing enormous challenges," U.S. Market president Mark Timney said in an e-mail Thursday to staff that was obtained by The Inquirer.

Drug ads with scary-sounding side effects have regularly appeared on TV since 1995, but rarely has a major pharmaceutical company played such an unscripted, prime-time role as Merck did Monday night - a moment that put the klieg lights on corporate political contributions. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann attacked fellow Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry during the GOP debate over the Texas governor's 2007 decision to have young girls inoculated against a virus that can contribute to cervical cancer.

As Big Pharma cuts jobs, will a rising generation of smaller drug companies fill the holes in corporate Philadelphia? "Downsizing" has left "a highly skilled workforce" looking for management, capital, and new opportunities, said John Gattuso , Philadelphia regional director for business landlord Liberty Property Trust . Four-year-old Iroko Pharmaceuticals L.L.C. is among the firms that has been growing, not cutting. Founded by ex- GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C.

Who loves puppies more? Merck or Pfizer? Both global pharmaceutical giants have animal-health divisions, but they are considering different paths. Merck Inc. just announced that it was bringing a Philly guy home - sort of - to run its animal kingdom, and chief executive officer Ken Frazier (another Philly guy) highlighted the unit's results in his opening statement to investment analysts when discussing second-quarter results. Pfizer Inc. said it was exploring the sale or spin-off of its animal unit and its human-nutrition division.

Some veteran Merck employees, including those in West Point and Upper Gwynedd, had a decision to make Friday that will affect employment for themselves and colleagues with the global pharmaceutical manufacturer. A union official said Friday was the deadline for filing papers to accept early-retirement packages offered by the company, which recently said it was going to cut 13,000 jobs across the company by 2015. "If they get their number, then maybe not, but if they don't get their number, there might be layoffs," said Dan Bangert, plant chairman of United Steelworkers Union Local 10-00086.

Some veteran Merck employees, including those in West Point and Upper Gwynedd, had a decision to make Friday that will affect employment for themselves and colleagues with the global pharmaceutical manufacturer. A union official said Friday was the deadline for filing papers to accept early retirement packages offered by the company, which recently said it was going to cut 13,000 jobs across the company by 2015. "If they get their number, then maybe not, but if they don't get their number, there might be layoffs," said Dan Bangert, plant chairman of United Steelworkers Union local 10-00086.

"Our advice to the prospective renter is to bring a checkbook, because if you find something you like and delay a decision, it could be gone in 20 minutes. " - Rich Lauletta, chief marketing officer, Philadelphia Apartment Co., regarding the region's hot rental market. "They are focusing on costs. That is exactly what they need to do under the new environment we operate under. " - David Maris, CLSA, on Merck & Co. Inc.'s plan to cut 13,000 jobs. "The markets are having a hard time discounting the possibility that politicians truly are insane.

Merck & Co. Inc. said Friday that it would cut an additional 13,000 jobs by 2015, despite also reporting higher quarterly sales and profit. The global pharmaceutical giant, which is based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., and has operations in West Point and Upper Gwynedd Township, did not say how many jobs would be lost at which facilities. Merck employs about 12,000 people at the Montgomery County sites. Merck said its second-quarter sales rose 7 percent to $12.15 billion from $11.35 billion in the same quarter last year, while net income nearly tripled to $2.02 billion, or 65 cents per share, from $752 million, or 24 cents for the second quarter of 2010.

Merck & Co. Inc. said Friday it would cut an additional 13,000 jobs by 2015, despite also reporting higher quarterly sales and profits. The global pharmaceutical giant, which is based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., and has operations in West Point and Upper Gwynedd Township, did not say how many jobs would be lost at which facilities. Merck employs about 12,000 people at the Montgomery County sites. Merck said its second-quarter sales rose 7 percent to $12.15 billion from $11.35 billion in the same quarter last year, while net income nearly tripled to $2.02 billion, or 65 cents per share, from $752 million, or 24 cents for the second quarter of 2010.