Pfizer to stay, but more cuts on the way

Since Pfizer bought Wyeth in Rockland County in October, many of its 3,000 employees have been waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The bad news? Approximately 200 jobs have already been cut at the Pearl River facility and more layoffs may be on the way.

The good news? Pfizer says it is committed to keeping Rockland”™s largest employer”™s doors open and transfers in are expected, as well. The facility is now one of five such Pfizer centers around the world.

The acquisition of Wyeth now makes Pfizer the largest pharmaceutical company on Earth.
A restructuring of the company had been in the planning stages for months before the buyout was finalized.

“Units are being moved to other parts of Pfizer”™s organization, but units will be moved here for what will make up the restructured facility,” said Al Samuels, president of the Rockland Business Association. “People will be leaving, but people will also be coming in. We have no information what the breakdown will be. But there was the potential for the facility to be closed ”“ so it”™s a good thing for the county that it is not closing. Will there be a net loss? Probably.”

Ron Hicks, president of the Rockland Development Corporation, said some of the layoffs were “pre-planned prior to the merger ”“ approximately 200 layoffs came after the merger; there was some shifting of employees. It”™s a 35-40 percent impact on the facility”™s R&D. In all, we”™re expecting to see 650 jobs, including the 200 workers that have already been let go, to be part of the layoff.  We won”™t know the fate of Pfizer”™s manufacturing segment  until May, 2010.”
Hicks said the state is not making life any easier for companies who plan to stay ”“ or those that are considering a move here. “Pfizer just got hit with a $1 million assessment from the MTA,” he said.