Wyeth cutting 1,200 jobs, including some in Mass.

Pharmaceuticals giant Wyeth, which has operations in Andover and Cambridge, said it plans to eliminate 1,200 jobs, or 2 percent of its worldwide workforce. That is in addition to 1,200 sales jobs the company eliminated last month.

Company spokesman Doug Petkus said the latest job reductions will “affect all facilities worldwide” and “cut across a variety of job types.” Petkus declined to say how many workers would be affected in Massachusetts, but the company started to notify employees last Friday.

Petkus said the company is making the cuts to reduce expenses in response to declining revenue from its bestselling heartburn drug Protonix, which now faces competition from generic versions.

Wyeth has about 2,700 employees in Massachusetts, making it one of the state’s largest employers in the life sciences industries.

The job cuts were first reported yesterday on the Pharmalot blog.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)