SERIOUS THREAD ATTEMPT: FUTURE ?

Thought I would roll the dice and see if we could actually get an adult discussion going on about the future of our jobs?

I love this company and have devoted a lot of my time and energy to make it successful. I continue to work hard and try to remain positive about the companies future. My concern is the eeery silence from above regarding our future employment. I have several offers from other competitive companies, but don't really want to leave. I also don't want to end up regretting not taking these offers "if" layoffs occur and then looking for a job without one. Since no one in Leadership is reassuring those of us loyal to the company for many years I am convinced that my best action would be to take the offer from one of our competitors. They are offering more base salary than I am making now. Bonus is most likely less than our great past bonuses but our future bonus may not be that great. I actually like my Manager here and think he is great.

So.....what say you?

 

You have to think of what does the future hold for the competitor drug you would sell........it's a risk either way.

 

Every company will down size. It's inevitable. What I have noticed is that reps who are laid off and gain employment in another health care sales position tend to be first on the list to be laid off again. It's almost like a continual circle. (Laid off, severance, new job, training, laid off...) A couple of the reps I know have been able to continue with pay increases but at the cost of training and stress. One friend in particular has developed pretty thick skin to it. So maybe you get used to it. (?) Everything within this industry is a risk. Good luck and congratulations on being sought after. You will do well at what ever you choose.

 

Like the previous poster stated, you are likely to be laid off at any time from any company within this industry. They are all risky. You say you have been here a while, so why not stay and risk the lay off here. At least here is you get laid off the package will be ok due to your tenure. If you go elsewhere and get laid off in a year or two, they will give you nothing.

 

Just remember, no pharmaceutical company has ever succeeded against a generic.

 

Just remember, no generic pharmaceutical company ever succeeded and failed like Teva.

 

It's a tough call for all of us. I've seen what happens at other companies when a blockbuster goes generic. It's not the "Teva way" to lay people off, but Teva has never lost a $4 billion a year drug before. Bonus this year is not even close to what it was last year and that is a definite sign of the times. Reshape is real because of the generic threat, no new products, etc. I don't think there is a definitive right answer, but if you have an opportunity to work somewhere with a younger drug with possibilities to grow and make $, I'd jump ship. But it has been a great place to be for many years so its hard to leave.

 

I agree with this. It's not the Teva we've enjoyed. It's a whole new ball game and Teva has to play differently. Opportunities that offer the possibility to grow and advance is worth more than $$. This is the reason why even recent college grads won't apply in this industry.

 

Are you asking whether you should go to Genzyme or stay at Teva? I don't understand how they are hiring. Aubagio reps should sell the new drug as well.

 

Justified question. I don't think the future holds much for Teva Neurosciences. Copaxone is toast, laquinimod has serious issues and who knows if and when it will come. The migraine deals seem fishy and utterly unrealistic in terms of revenue prediction.
I think we need to wake up and smell the coffee that this whole speciality medicines thing isnt quite right for Teva. Copaxone was a one-off and while we like to think we did it, we must not forget that the show was run by somebody else for a considerable time.
All promises so far to launch stuff in speciality have turned to dust- mostly because of simply a lack of experience in all functions across the company and a mix of cutting corners and stubborness. How much longer would the board want to make upfront investments and only see failure? They are generics guys, their comfort zone in terms of time horizon is 3 month... New and experienced people hired seem to leave again as quickly as they can.
My idea for Teva is to make it a law firm. Science and medicines was never our strength- lawyers are.

 

If you have tenure, I would still hold out for a severance. Wouldn't you?

 

Best assessment of Teva that I have seen in a long long time!

 

I would not hold out for a severance if you have an opportunity in front of you today. That is just stupid. But if you don't have a new place to call home, then hang tight and collect the package. Nothing wrong with that. But I think you'd be a fool to pass on an opportunity because you want to take a severance package. Managers do not like to hire people who were let go- unless its a contract company.

 

There is risk everywhere. Do what makes you happy.

 

Maybe. What I have heard from recruiters is that very few want to sell in the healthcare field. The money, the advancement opportunities, the respect, and the job itself isn't what it used to be. Most who got out, stay out. I vote get the severance and do something else... something fun. That would be a change.

 

This is true. I tried to refer a friend and the hiring manager wouldn't interview him because he's out of work due to a lay off. It's better to get a new job when you currently are employed for these reasons.

 

So you guys really think we are going to have cuts in Neuroscience? Why are we filling open positions?

 

I am not sure what will happen. I don't think any of us know for sure. But I'd feel a whole lot better if there weren't two reps per territory. Not good.

 

That's the buzz killer, reminding myself there's two reps doing the exact same job. Every time I start feeling better about Copaxone maybe not going generic or having so many patients on 3x/week, I remember there's two reps sharing the exact same job with two mature drugs. Teva must love it since they keep replacing the ones who leave. I vote for Manager pods. Wouldn't it be fun seeing two Managers do the same job? How about National Director pods??? The two rep thing is silly plus it'll always be a reminder they can easily cut the sales force in half. One never feels secure.

 

Maybe they will.....
Teva is cutting $2 billion in costs, and Vigodman has said it will give more attention to the generics business which has been its bread and butter. Bloomberg pointed out that generic sales in the U.S. were up 10% and that revenues from the category worldwide were up 5% to to $2.5 billion.