Friday, October 23, 2009

Some More -- On Headcount Thoughts, US v. Europe


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.

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