Great Catch -- By "Anonymous", Here!

Did I miss statements made by CEO Clark yesterday, or perhaps CEO-for-the-moment Hassan, on their respective earnings calls -- to the effect that most job-losses will be outside the US?

Let me be clear -- I did not see any such statement, but the Rolfe Winkler-penned Reuters story I linked this morning, earlier (reporting ECC clearance), ends with just that statement, thus:

. . . .Condor:

The story link you posted for the [European Competition Commission's] "hall pass" notes at the bottom that most of the job losses will happen "out of the US". This is the first I have heard of this. As a SP employee, I've followed the news each day both internally and externally and have not seen any indication as to how the job losses would be allocated. Have you seen anything that would push a reporter to make that comment?

Thanks!

October 23, 2009 9:55 AM. . . .

I suppose it would be fair to assume that Merck's job cuts will be primarily outside the US, as Schering-Plough's international footprint is much larger than Merck's. That would require reading the comment as applying to Merck only, and there is nothing to suggest that was the author's intent.

Alternatively, I suppose one could count all the former Merck-Merial employees, now controlled by Sanofi, as "severed" -- for the purpose of reducing Merck's headcount. And along those lines, it is clear that Intervet people will be downsized, should the call option be exercised by Sanofi, post close. But beyond that, I don't recall seeing such a statement officially attributed to either company's media relations people.

Anyone else out there? Am I forgetting an earlier SEC filing?

Let us know, in the comments.

Thanks again to the anonymous commenter, for this pick-up!

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UPDATED -- 10.23.09 @ 10:00 PM EDT: Another anonymous commenter, below, offers this speculation:

. . . .There will be serious overlap, as well as an over staffed sales-force in the U.S. IMO.

New Merck could easily get twice the attrition they want by offering older employees decent packages, but then there would be no one left!

Why would they let the overseas coleagues go? That's where 70% of sales and most of the growth is coming from at SP.

Murphy's law, if you want a package it won't be offered. If you want to stay, then a package will be forced upon you. . . .

October 23, 2009 9:42 PM

I guess all I'd add, by way of observation (not even dissent, really) is that -- in Europe, at least, I think the Animal Health businesses will face some significant headcount pressure, post-close, at least if one takes Sanofi's CEO at his word -- that he is very likely to exercise the 100 day "call option" to acquire for "New" Merial, all of "Old" Schering-Plough's Intervet, from "New" Merck. The central feature of the slide describing this portion of the deal was "cost synergies", on July 30, 2009:



That's slang for down-sizing the employee population.