NY Times seeking information about layoffs

Discussion in 'Pfizer' started by Alex Berenson, Nov 20, 2006 at 5:09 PM.

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  1. To all reps and managers:

    I am a reporter for the NY Times who covers Pfizer and the drug industry. Pfizer often does not like to release information about layoffs even AFTER they occur. It is clear from the volume and tone of recent postings on this board that some kind of sales force, and possibly company-wide, reduction is in the works.

    If you have information about these proposed layoffs, please email me at berenson@nytimes.com so that I can approach Pfizer's PR department with intelligent questions, and hopefully get some answers as to what the company is really planning. I will treat all emails as confidential.

    Thanks
    Alex
     

  2. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Alex

    There really is no secret. There are too few drugs and too many reps callling on doctors. It is the law of dimishing returns. At some point, the physicians say "enough". With pharma guidelines, you really cannot "sell". However you feel about it, golfing, dinner with wifes, game tickets etc are a way to build rapport and relationships. People even docs do business with reps they like, know and trust. Without that tool, docs are sick of eating crappy lunch with 4 reps droning on about how great Lipitor is over drug Y or Z....or use Geodon off label for your depression since my Zoloft is off patent.

    So you have too many reps, too many district manager, too many regional manager, too many trainers, too many marketing people, too many managed care reps and so on and so on and so on......Now the captain of the ship is the "slasher" from Boston Market....doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out....also all the stars are aligned against Pfizer....Indolpon, dems in control of congress etc etc etc.
     
  3. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I'll only speak to Michael Moore.
     
  4. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    call (212) 573-1226 if you are a journalist
     
  5. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Great...trolls, recruiters, lawyers, pissed off losers who have been terminated and now a freakin' clueless reporter who obviously doesn't read the news releases.
     
  6. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Welcome to Cafepharma my friend!
     
  7. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Alex-NY times

    Please provide your fax number and a number to call at NY times to verify your status....rest will come to you with no hassles...
     
  8. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I bet the reason FFO 1 didn't go very far was that the industry didn't want to do massive layoffs while Michael Moore was still filming.

    All bets are off now.
     
  9. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Alex,

    Our new CEO Kindler has one mission in mind right now. "Stock Price", Pfizers stock has been shit since Hank McKinnell. And Kindler has to save the stock for the shareholders bottom line. At this point he will cut anyone or any obstacle in the way of this mission. First off why don't you give Hank McKinnell a call and see how he is going to spend his $86MM in retirement money in February. Were all getting ready lose our jobs when this dude walks away with $86MM. Imagine how many heads could have stayed with that. Second off give Michael Moore a call maybe he can give you the rest of the dirt he has been researching for a fee.
     
  10. My fax is 419-730-4226 (that's a personal efax that comes directly to my email box). My phone is 212-556-7208 -- you can also call the Times directly (556-1234) and ask for me.

    I am not surprised that some people on this board view my request negatively. I hope others of you will see that by trying to get Pfizer to release more information what I am doing may actually be helpful to you and your families.

    Thanks
    Alex
     
  11. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Alex,

    You seem to be legit based on the research I did on the NYT. You have several articles around healthcare. Unfortunately, people on this site will most likely not have very specific, accurate on sound information. My understanding is that only Regional Managers and above in the sales organization have the details currently. You would be better off contacting them if you know any. Good luck. Everyone on this site would like to know what the transformation will look like sooner than later.
     
  12. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Alex, I will file your name and number away for future use. I don't work for Pfizer but I do work for one of the biggies. Youwould be AMAZED at what goes on at pharma companies vis'-a-vis' marketing to MD's etc.!
     
  13. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Alex,

    The layoffs are long overdue. The current and previous field force models were poorly contrived and ill-timed. The old thinking was this: all modeling "proves" that increased numbers of representatives results in the largest ROI of any other tactic that big pharma dreamt up, including CME programs (often just promotional programs with minimal "shilling" by presenters), Direct-to-Patient programs and advertisements (embarrassing), and marketing budgets (a MASSIVE waste of money). So, when Pfizer added a few sales divisions and then bought out major competitors Warner Lambert and Pharmacia, we had reams of reps selling the same darned products, all calling on the same doctors.
    Granted, we were supposed to calling on them at different times, but the fact remains that docs got the short end of the stick: their days are squeezed by the managed care push to see more patients per day, and Big Pharma (led by Pfizer) sent a plethora of Jos A Bank wearing metrosexuals and other PYTs to bombard the offices to fight for those hypertension and dyslipidemia scripts. There was a sweet article published in '03 by McKinsey that analyzed this silly sales model, and their conclusion was that it was not an efficient way to do business, and that the model would certainly would not work going forward. Once again, Big Pharma (again led by Pfizer), not known for it's brilliance at the upper management sales, marketing, or executive levels, continued to insist on quoting the same mantra that they had during the beautiful days of the early to mid 90's "MORE IS BETTER, MORE IS BETTER"!

    Well, now that much of Pfizer's old guard leadership has been booted out, the new, MUCH brighter team at the helm sees that the time has come to stop the madness, and the "right size" sales, marketing, executive leadership teams. Cuts should be in the 15-20% range as a good start, and they should be implemented early (and I mean EARLY) in the New Year. Once Big Blue implements the o-so-badly needed cuts, the others will probably follow suit to some extent.

    Does any of this help?
     
  14. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest


    Perfectly said.
     
  15. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Thank you. I was typing fast, so I'm sorry for the poor spelling and/or grammar. I should write a jaime reedy-style book about what I know!!
     
  16. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Dear Alex
    Pfizer's pension fund is underfunded. New laws were passed this summer which require companies to fully fund their pensions.
    Most reps do not start earning much pension until their last ten
    years with the company. Suddenly Pfizer is firing alot of reps
    without legitimate reasons who are 7-10 years from retirement.
    They are harassing older reps by having their managers
    hang overtop of them in the car for two and three days straight,
    Some of them are exmilitary officers practicing paramilitary
    tactics to run reps out of pfizer. They are targeting older reps
    who are making higher salaries and vesting themselves in their
    pensions. Ask to see Pfizers Pension plan and determine the
    Profitability in harassing older reps.
    Everyone talks about Hank Mckinnell running off with 80 million.
    Kindler just discontinued the consistency bonuses for reps.
    He will take that amount away from reps in the next 3-4 years.
    In the meantime he's getting 500,000 stock options a year.
    When he moves the stock 20 bucks he'll receive 10 million
    in his pockets. SO he wants to move the price of the stock
    at all costs. IN addition he is in discussions with the FDA
    to move some of the manufacturing of pfizers drug components to China. Pfizer is already manufacturing in Puerto Rico. Kindler
    has announced plans to offer lawschool scholarships to Puerto Ricans and Asians interested in IP majors. He did not say
    scholarships for Hispanic minorities, he said 'Puerto Ricans"
    and Asians. He must have some long term plans for those
    bilingual candidates.
    It's interesting that Pfizer claims that the reimportation
    of Pfizer products is unsafe , while planning to increase
    profits by manufacturing Pfizer products outside of the US.
    Pfizer has been firing reps all year in preparation for the
    New Year.

    Stay tuned to cafe Pharma.
     
  17. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    So true. Everybit of it.

    I am a 49 year old female, 20 yrs in industry, 10 years with Pfizer, who has recently been forced out.

    I planned on retiring at 65! Pfizer doesn't like older sales women---they think because of the fact that we lose our looks and go through menapose---that we are some kind of a threat. The truth is that we want to be successful, do our jobs the way we know is effective/above the law, and retire just like the men do.

    You should do a story on discrimination of the sales force. Blacks are safe, Asians, but the older, female,white , sales rep suffers at Pfizer.

    Find out how many People over 30 Pfizer hires on its sales force----ask the Pfizer PR people THAT and hear some silence on the end of the line. Make them prove it.

    Also ask them how many women over 40 they have fired or who have quit within the last 4 years.

    The reimportation subject is a real interesting one too!! Yeah, Pfizer will now have the drugs manufactured in Asia---but their lobbiest have done an excellent job conviencing Congress to do otherwise!
     
  18. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

  19. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Lay-offs are inevitable at Pfizer because of major screwups by the management (both current and past) ....lot of drug failures.....no future pipeline....torcetrapib has safety issue.....

    Lyrica was discovered by former WLA took 4 years to get approval because Pfizer tried to fool the FDA with some bogus info not supported by the data in the original application ,
    Oporia....by Ligand.....BOMBED...rejected by the FDA...again a major safety finding by FDA review of the application....
    Indiplon....Nuerocrine.....rejected ....after FDA review...
    Vicuron products invested 2.2 billion for two lousy products...one is still at the FDA for over three years now....one is recently approved after two years of rejection....life time sales projection is only 60 millions after spending 2.2 billins!!!
    Dynastat......rejected by the fDA
    you want more???
    Check this out now....Zoloft 3.3 billions lost
    Zyrtec - 2billions will be lost in 2007
    Norvasc.....almost 5billions in sept-2007
    Zocor,Vytorin, eating away slowly Lipitor sales

    Pfizer will no longer be a big company.....unless they buy another big company within the next year....But again they dont know how to develop drugs....so the cyclce starts again ......slowly disintegrate.....Future doesn't look good for Pfizer no matter how you look at it...........some of the physicians who work at Pfizer are incompetent....real scary.....hiding safety info from the public......situation is real bad....they are terminating employees very silently.....some of them disappear without any trace....