Pfizer to cut US sales jobs by 20%

11/29/06 - newratings.com

NEW YORK, November 29 (newratings.com) – US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc (PFE) Tuesday announced plans to cut its US sales force by about 20% or 2,200 sales representatives and managers.

Pfizer currently has 11,000 sales representatives and intends to implement the planned cuts by the end of this year. In a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Pfizer mentioned that the latest round of layoffs is in addition to the 5,300 job cuts enforced by it since early 2005. The latest job cuts have been initiated by Pfizer’s new chief executive, Jeffrey B Kindler, who has vowed to review each operational aspect of the pharmaceutical company and aims to generate annual cost savings worth $4 billion by 2008. The company said that the job cuts will not affect its ability to market various drugs.

Pfizer said that it will outline the further details of its restructuring programme and long-term outlook in January. The company had earlier this year announced that its sales were expected to remain flat over the next two years. Pfizer is scheduled to provide the details of its drug pipeline in an analyst meeting on Thursday.