Beyond the at least 30,000 worldwide layoffs over just the past three and a half years (legacy Schering-Plough and Merck combined), there are the "tertiary" economic contractions -- in the smallish "company" towns, that play host to the former Schering-Plough facilities. Facilities that are slated for reduction, sale or demolition.
Ed Silverman (who also writes Pharmalot) has a great long story, in NJ SpotLight.com, on just this -- do go read it all:
. . . .Mike Rannigan shakes his head and digs his hands deep into his pants pockets when he thinks about the many Merck employees who will probably no longer eat the hot dogs and burgers he serves at the Galloping Hill Grill, a landmark eatery located at the busy Five Points intersection in Kenilworth.
Over the next 12 to 18 months, more than 1,400 jobs at the Merck facility less than a mile down the road will start disappearing as the pharmaceutical giant continues the process of consolidating [Schering-Plough]. . . .
In Kenilworth, though, the pain is going to be outsized. Roughly 900 legal, marketing and other administrative positions will gradually be transferred to Merck headquarters in Whitehouse Station and a few other sites scattered around the state.And about 580 manufacturing jobs will leave New Jersey entirely as some operations are moved to other parts of the country. This adds up to more than half of the 2,600 people who currently work there. . . .
Do go read it -- and mourn the "collateral damage" of this transaction. One that (apparently, thus far) did little more than put over 30,000 people out of work, and hand an aggregate of some $500 million to "Fast" Fred Hassan, Carrie Cox, Bob Bertolini, Tom Sabatino, Tom Koestler and Raul Kohan.
Oh. Yes. And (at least partially) cause the reform of the SEC's "Golden Parachute" disclosure rules. Disturbing.
3 comments:
And, as I previously mentioned, this doesn't talk about the subcontracts that S/P had with Sodexo. Sodexo let go 159 people associated with the former S/P sites:
http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/lwdhome/warn/2010/0910WARN.html
With only 1 bldg remaining in Kenilworth (K15), those laid off won't be replaced.
NJ Gov. Christie's ads running in IL touting the 'great business climate' may be a backhanded attempt to attract employers to move and make up for the massive pharma job losses.
I moved from Union to RY, and I was just telling my colleague today how wonderful lunch used to be at the Galloping Hill Grill. What a great place! I hope it survives...
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