Advice to Hospira employees

[Anonymous]

Perhaps we're trying to read tea leaves when we should be listening ...

From FiercePharma:

"Also in 2015, Pfizer broke the short winter dry spell in med tech deals by purchasing Hospira ($HSP) for $17 billion. The deal was primarily driven by that company's biosimilar pipeline, but Pfizer CEO Ian Read felt compelled to tell investors that he likes Hospira's infusion pumps business and intends to continue managing it."

If there were any doubt about keeping the business, Read would have simply been silent on the matter. There was no compelling reason to even mention it. I'm sure there will be a chorus of naysayers screaming "CEOs lie." Ok, perhaps true. But they are also smart enough to just avoid controversial topics, like closing parts of acquired companies.

If there was no interest in the business, the answer would have been more like "we're weighing our options with that segment", etc.

You're spinning/interpreting what you read to be what you want it to be. Been there and done that. No one really knows, including Read. CEOs are politicians who make more money. Like politicians they will say what you want to hear. You may be absolutely correct. I hope you are.
My take is Read will not tip his hand as to what he will ultimately do. He lied and didn't lie at the same time. He wants the pump division to stay profitable. If he says that Pfizer is dumping it, he knows most people will stop working, especially sales. They'll do no more and no less to keep their paycheck as they look for another job. He knows that and if it's value declines, he'll have a tough time selling it off.
My take, we will be employed for 6mos to a year after our buyout is completed. After that,while we're being shopped around, we'll be retained. Ultimately, the buyer will decide how many of us will be retained. I'm shopping too. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. If something better comes along, I'm gone. Can't wait around because Read mentioned us in his presentation to Fierce Pharma??....to keep stockholders less jittery...and I am a stockholder.

 

[Anonymous]

You're spinning/interpreting what you read to be what you want it to be. Been there and done that. No one really knows, including Read. CEOs are politicians who make more money. Like politicians they will say what you want to hear. You may be absolutely correct. I hope you are.
My take is Read will not tip his hand as to what he will ultimately do. He lied and didn't lie at the same time. He wants the pump division to stay profitable. If he says that Pfizer is dumping it, he knows most people will stop working, especially sales. They'll do no more and no less to keep their paycheck as they look for another job. He knows that and if it's value declines, he'll have a tough time selling it off.
My take, we will be employed for 6mos to a year after our buyout is completed. After that,while we're being shopped around, we'll be retained. Ultimately, the buyer will decide how many of us will be retained. I'm shopping too. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. If something better comes along, I'm gone. Can't wait around because Read mentioned us in his presentation to Fierce Pharma??....to keep stockholders less jittery...and I am a stockholder.

I'm not spinning this, rather I'm just surprised to see it was specifically addressed. I am also a stockholder, in both companies. I agree there will be major cuts in sales forces. That is no secret and doesn't require a crystal ball. The idea that MOST Hospira employees will go is, however, not realistic. The manufacturing capacity and set up is difficult to replicate. The hospital relationships are important. The cuts in sales will be heavily on the Hospira side, sure, but any Pfizer rep ought not be too cocky. This isn't King or Wyeth or Pharmacia or Warner Lambert.

The infusion pump division really has a defined value. No spin required to show its reasonable sales price, if Pfizer divests it. The sales are already known, so it isn't hard to decide whether to keep it or sell.

The time to be looking is now. With each acquisition, the cuts came quicker. When you do something over and over, you get good at it. I think your "bird in hand" plan is smart and truly wish you good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

Why don't you two steers discuss this at Motel 6

 

[Anonymous]

You're spinning/interpreting what you read to be what you want it to be. Been there and done that. No one really knows, including Read. CEOs are politicians who make more money. Like politicians they will say what you want to hear. You may be absolutely correct. I hope you are.
My take is Read will not tip his hand as to what he will ultimately do. He lied and didn't lie at the same time. He wants the pump division to stay profitable. If he says that Pfizer is dumping it, he knows most people will stop working, especially sales. They'll do no more and no less to keep their paycheck as they look for another job. He knows that and if it's value declines, he'll have a tough time selling it off.
My take, we will be employed for 6mos to a year after our buyout is completed. After that,while we're being shopped around, we'll be retained. Ultimately, the buyer will decide how many of us will be retained. I'm shopping too. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. If something better comes along, I'm gone. Can't wait around because Read mentioned us in his presentation to Fierce Pharma??....to keep stockholders less jittery...and I am a stockholder.

The one thing HR fears the most, is an premature exit of personnel due to people leaving on their own. They want you to stay until the technology transfer is ready for the next purchaser.

Should you stay to the end and get the package or take an offer if it comes your way? IMHO you should take the first good offer and get out ASAP. Why? The last guy to turn off the lights usually ends up working his butt off to clean up after everyone else. He is also the last guy for throwing underneath the bus if the transfer isn't going well.

 

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have a sense of who is hiring ? would be a good target to go to ?

 

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have a sense of who is hiring ? would be a good target to go to ?

The economy has gotten a lot better since the late 2000s and early 2010s but it doesn't affect everyone equally. It depends on whether you have "soft" skills or "hard" skills. The soft skills are the paper-pushing, bureaucratic jobs that people weave around themselves to make the process complex and uncomprehensable for job security. The hard skills are transferable skills to other companies, such as operating standard machinery, designing tools, setting up automation, etc. Good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

The economy has gotten a lot better since the late 2000s and early 2010s but it doesn't affect everyone equally. It depends on whether you have "soft" skills or "hard" skills. The soft skills are the paper-pushing, bureaucratic jobs that people weave around themselves to make the process complex and uncomprehensable for job security. The hard skills are transferable skills to other companies, such as operating standard machinery, designing tools, setting up automation, etc. Good luck.

[i/]First of all, You are mixing apples and oranges. Second of all you are incorrect. Semi/Unskilled laborers are dime a dozen, they flood that market and the average pay is $10-18/Hr. A rep with degree can always change professions and make 60-90k That $18/hr job is a meager salary and that type of labor force is seedy and has real degenerates competing for manual labor positions IMO[/i]

 

[Anonymous]

[i/]First of all, You are mixing apples and oranges. Second of all you are incorrect. Semi/Unskilled laborers are dime a dozen, they flood that market and the average pay is $10-18/Hr. A rep with degree can always change professions and make 60-90k That $18/hr job is a meager salary and that type of labor force is seedy and has real degenerates competing for manual labor positions IMO[/i][/QUOTE

Did it ever occur to you that the people with the "hard skills" include chemists, technicians, pharmacologists, engineers, doctors, etc? Why do you think only of manual laborers?

 

[Anonymous]

Look now you're talking on RD side now. So what, youre referring to, is a degree qualified Mechanical Engineer ? You know all about practical/theoretical solutions for challenging process machinery problems Nice! So you tweek data and associated engineering discipline interfaces in process systems relevant to Pharma Manufacturing specifically ****** location ? If so you won't have a problem. Iam getting bored on here. You do have some substance in your posts when you don't stray off reality. I do realize this from SOME of your posts

HR

 

[Anonymous]

When you mention tool design and machinery set up, that's what comes to mind

HR

 

[Anonymous]

I would say your type of skills are in demand and ARE more transferable to other industries where job security ranks higher than Pharma. What's the reps gonna do Sell IBM copiers or used cars or go to another Pharma company (if lucky) then get PIPd and RIFd in two years

HR

 

[Anonymous]

Look now you're talking on RD side now. So what, youre referring to, is a degree qualified Mechanical Engineer ? You know all about practical/theoretical solutions for challenging process machinery problems Nice! So you tweek data and associated engineering discipline interfaces in process systems relevant to Pharma Manufacturing specifically ****** location ? If so you won't have a problem. Iam getting bored on here. You do have some substance in your posts when you don't stray off reality. I do realize this from SOME of your posts

HR

We are drifting off topic here.

 

[Anonymous]

I would say your type of skills are in demand and ARE more transferable to other industries where job security ranks higher than Pharma. What's the reps gonna do Sell IBM copiers or used cars or go to another Pharma company (if lucky) then get PIPd and RIFd in two years

HR

Poor reps? They chose the profession - with all the highs and lows that come with it. It is time for the reps to put their big boy pants on and adapt or die. They are no different than any other profession.

 

[Anonymous]

You poor idiots. I no longer work for Hospira but observe from afar the demise I saw coming of what could have been an awesome company at spin to a train wreck. The only thing Pfizer wants from Hospira is it's progress on implementing biosimiliars, most of which are not in the USA. They want the offshore manufacturing and our pipeline of customer base when they can launch in this country. That will not be 2016 or even the year after. They will sell off anything that does not meet their bottom line, including most sales reps. Generic sales reps typically have a customer base of several states, not several cities and Pfizer has long established itself as a company who does an annual cleanse of several hundreds of thousands of sales reps and other employees. Read Wall St or Bloomberg. Their long term plan has been to buy and divide, has been for quite a while.

Former Pfizer rep here. All Pfizer cares about is money not the patient but money not the employes of the companies they buy but money. My old manager on field rides would check Pfizer stock price all day it's all about money with these people

 

[Anonymous]

Poor reps? They chose the profession - with all the highs and lows that come with it. It is time for the reps to put their big boy pants on and adapt or die. They are no different than any other profession.

Exactly. That's the business model today. Your only life time job available is with the govt.
Pharma has no job security anymore and probably never will again.

 

[Anonymous]

I saw the race card played out many times against Abbott HR It's way worse now days because of Obama and his street thug community organizers ! They play the blame game and were lazy F'k offs ! Sometimes it worked but MOST times it failed, because they weren't smart enough to know what an EEOC claim actually involves and how complex the process is

 

[Anonymous]

I saw the race card played out many times against Abbott HR It's way worse now days because of Obama and his street thug community organizers ! They play the blame game and were lazy F'k offs ! Sometimes it worked but MOST times it failed, because they weren't smart enough to know what an EEOC claim actually involves and how complex the process is

Is this the new grassroots, on-the-cutting-edge social media approach the "new" GOP is taking......posting on Cafepharma Message Boards???? Ya need more women in the party to tell you good old boys when you're acting stupid.