Merck’s 2009 US sales team cutbacks total 750
This article was originally published in Scrip
Merck & Co has already cut around 750 US sales jobs this year, according to reports by Dow Jones.
The losses are part of the 7,200 position reduction plan that Merck announced last October in an attempt to produce pre-tax savings of $3.8-4.2 billion by 2013 (Scrip Online, October 23rd, 2008).
A Merck spokesperson was alleged to have said that some employees were only notified of their termination at the beginning of this week, though many were notified earlier this year. The spokesperson would not confirm nor deny this to Scrip.
The cuts will be completed by 2012 and are in addition to the restructuring announced in 2005, when 10,400 positions were eliminated. About 40% of the reductions will be in the US and a quarter of them will target mid to senior management. Around 6,800 active positions and 400 vacancies will be terminated.
This will leave the company with around 5,600 US sales representatives, a figure t that was close to the optimal number of sales personnel, the spokesperson said.
The restructuring plan came after Merck & Co's sales fall dramatically in the second half of 2008. A 2% sales decline in the third quarter was followed by a 3% drop in the fourth quarter, producing a 1% full-year sales descent to $23.85 billion (Scrip Online, February 4th, 2008).