Merck to cut 1,200 sales jobs following regulatory setbacks
NEW YORK—Merck & Co. said Monday it is eliminating 1,200 U.S. sales jobs, a move that comes a week after federal regulators rejected an experimental drug the pharmaceutical company had been touting to reinvigorate its key cholesterol franchise.
The cuts come on top of the elimination of about 8,100 positions under the sweeping restructuring plan announced in December 2005, its so-called Plan to Win.
The job cuts are to be completed by the end of July, with employees being notified by the end of this month. They amount to nearly 15 percent of the 8,500 sales jobs Merck had at the beginning of 2007, spokeswoman Amy Rose said.
"It's really attributable to a number of things," she told The Associated Press.
Those include the Food and Drug Administration's rejection last Monday of a new cholesterol drug called Cordaptive -- a decision that stock analysts said was a big surprise. In addition, Rose said, Merck has successfully completed the launch of eight medicines and vaccines in the United States since 2006 and now is scaling back the number of salespeople devoted to those drugs.
Kenneth Frazier, president of Global Human Health at Merck, said in a statement that the step is part of continuing efforts to improve the company's effectiveness and efficiency across its business.
"We decided to accelerate the achievement of efficiencies we anticipate gaining as we transition to our new commercial model in the United States," he said.
Merck has been enduring a string of setbacks over the past 11 days, including the FDA rejecting the company's proposed allergy drug that combined the active ingredients of Merck's Singulair and Schering-Plough Corp.'s Claritin, which is available without prescription. Last Wednesday, FDA publicly demanded the company clean up problems at its main vaccine plant.
Merck shares fell 39 cents to $38.97 in regular trading Monday, then rose 7 cents to $39.05 in after-hours trading.
------
On the Net: http://www.merck.com
