The US pharmaceutical group Merck, which has suffered heavily from the loss of exclusivity on several drugs, is about to cut 8.500 employees, or more than 10% of its effective workforce.
The drastic restructuring plan, announced today, provides for savings of 2,5 billion dollars between now and 2015, with an addition of an additional 1.000 job losses compared to the 7.500 previously announced. “This operation will allow us to become competitive again,” explained CEO Kenneth Frazier in the press release.
However, the American group has not renounced to satisfy its shareholders, still distributing dividends and buying treasury shares. In fact, the annual forecasts speak of a recovery, with the net profit per share which will rise from 3,45 to 3,55 dollars, while however the turnover will drop by 5-6% compared to last year and in the second quarter the net profit it halved to $906 million.
