Merck To Cut 13,000 More Jobs in The Next 4 Years

Some of this is the results of the Schering-Plough merger and the rest is a result of competition from generic drug competition.  As we all know the days of the block buster drugs are almost a thing of the past.  In 2010 Singulair comes off patent and and has sales of $5 billion.  Teva has been biting at the bit to produce their generic version of the drug and this has been in court since 2009.  BD

Some of this is the results of the Schering-Plough merger and the rest is a result of competition from generic drug competition.  As we all know the days of the block buster drugs are almost a thing of the past.  In 2010 Singulair comes off patent and and has sales of $5 billion.  Teva has been biting at the bit to produce their generic version of the drug and this has been in court since 2009.  BD

Merck and Teva Go to Court over Singulair Going Generic

The drug maker Merck, which is still trimming a workforce that ballooned after its merger with Schering-Plough in 2009, said Friday the job-cutting will go even deeper as the company eliminates as many as 13,000 more positions around the world to reduce costs during the next four years.

The U.S., where the company employs 35,000 people, will take a hard blow, absorbing as much as 40 percent of the cuts, according to Merck.

For Merck, the world’s second largest drug maker, it is at least the third restructuring since 2005 when it set out to cut $5 billion in costs by eliminating 10.400 jobs. In addition to those cuts, the company has reduced its workforce by an estimated 30,000 since it announced its merger with Schering-Plough in 2009.

Drug company Merck, which employs 12,000 in N.J., to eliminate 13,000 positions worldwide | NJ.com