Pfizer, The Viagra Miracle Maker Fires 600 Workers! - Who Needs A Miracle Now?
4 01 2008
Pfizer, the drug giant best known for Viagra, announced that it would pull out of Brooklyn, firing all 600 workers at its Williamsburg plant.
“As part of cutbacks planned for the whole company, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is closing its Brooklyn plant over the next two years. Six hundred jobs will be eliminated, starting with 90 between now and March 31. The plant’s site leader Bill Barberich told the NY Times, “Colleagues were shocked and disappointed by the news, but acted very maturely. It’s a very bad day for a lot of people.” Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce interim president Mark Kessler said, “This is a major loss for Brooklyn and its residents,” and the Mayor’s office said they would help laid-off Pfizer employees find new jobs. Pfizer is eliminating a total of 10,000 jobs, as well as closing three research sites in Michigan and another manufacturing plant in Omaha, as it faces tougher competition.” - gothamist
What’s this? Pfizer cutting back? Not selling enough Viagra these day?
10,000 people that were preaching to their kids “Get a real job that has security!”.
10,000 people that thought they would have a secure 20 years at one firm and a sweet retirement.
Oh well, it’s not only the fall in Viagra sales with quicker acting and longer lasting, Cialis and Levitra taking a huge chunk, it’s that many of Pfizer’s other best sellers have gone off patent recently which means other pharmaceutical manufacturers have geared up to legally manufacture and sell the product.
But Viagra will be going off patent in 2011, so cutting back now makes sense.
On the other hand…Pfizer is expanding internationally.
Pfizer opens new manufacturing facility in Singapore
Pfizer opens Irish plant for cardiovascular drug Pfizer has started production at a newly opened $90m plant expansion in Ireland that will make torcetrapib, a cardiovascular drug in late-stage clinical testing.
Pfizer Opens The World’s Most Advanced Capsule Plant In China The new plant of Suzhou Capsugel Ltd., a division of Pfizer Inc. recently opened, marking it the most advanced capsule production plant based in China
The US-based pharmaceutical company Pfizer has begun construction of a new 60-million euro production plant in Illertissen, Bavaria. Pfizer already employs some 600 people in the region
We can see where this is going.
