Merck job cuts set to accelerate

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I have been at Merck/SP 17 years and I am getting out. It just is not a healthy environment. I can’t live my life with the fear of getting cut year after year after year. It’s not really a Merck issue as more of a pharmaceutical issue in general. I have no intention of bashing management or Merck for I had more ups than down here. I’m a little worried because when you have done something for so long you kind if wonder what else you can do. I am educated, hardworking and have people in other fields that I hope can help me out. I am not expecting the same money as I make now but I need a better quality of life. The last 4 years have been tough and I think it’s catching up with me now. I have had the pleasure and privilege of working with so many talented people that it is beyond a blessing. The work is not stressful, it’s just the grind and uncertainty of the situation. I really feel if I stay here, in 5-7 years my health suffer.

Good luck and there is not a better bunch of hard working dedicated people then there are at Merck. This includes all departments.
 












Anonymous said:
I agree...the stress of working at Merck can "kill" you! There is life outside of Merck, though!
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I hope so. My son is getting of age where he needs a dad. I guess I am hard wired to work hard and that may be the issue also. The stress of working hard and on top of that worrying so much about the future at Merck for such a long time really takes a toll. Every day just seems longer and longer to decompress when I get home. I don’t know about others but sometimes it takes me till 10:00 EST to finally relax. 5 years ago it would take me 15 minutes and unfortunately increased over time. It is unfortunate because I do have warm memories of the people I have worked with. Something is amiss now and I have no idea when things will get better here. I could get an offer at another pharmaceutical company but now they are all the same. I used to be as strong and stubborn as a Bull (the German in me) but not anymore.
 






Anonymous said:
I hope so. My son is getting of age where he needs a dad. I guess I am hard wired to work hard and that may be the issue also. The stress of working hard and on top of that worrying so much about the future at Merck for such a long time really takes a toll. Every day just seems longer and longer to decompress when I get home. I don’t know about others but sometimes it takes me till 10:00 EST to finally relax. 5 years ago it would take me 15 minutes and unfortunately increased over time. It is unfortunate because I do have warm memories of the people I have worked with. Something is amiss now and I have no idea when things will get better here. I could get an offer at another pharmaceutical company but now they are all the same. I used to be as strong and stubborn as a Bull (the German in me) but not anymore.
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My German got the best of me after 17 years when I realized I needed more control over my future and no longer saw long term value in what we had at Merck. Use your strength and persistence/stubbornness/bulldoggedness to help you pursue your goals and dreams. Take the goodtimes from Merck with you and find better times than you have now elsewhere. Life is much too short to waste at something you no longer can tolerate.
 






Interestingly, no mention of cuts in sales....only research sites and manufacturing plants.

Not saying cuts in sales won't happen...just wondering why there is no talk of it in news articles.
 






They never say cuts in sales force. If they killed the revenue generating of sales reps....they'd be wasting big money. Remember a couple years ago when Dick Clark said we aren't going to cut the sales force? Then look at what happened in 2010. Big time cuts and not just SP reps.

Do yourself a favor and look for the next career opportunity. Even if you want to stay - it never hurts to put together a plan B.
 
























Anonymous said:
I hope so~ bring it on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SP legacy reps are ready to get their package and move to bigger and better opportunities!~ This company is #$%^ hole!
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For those of us without any decent packages....this is not good. Many want to keep our jobs and need to keep our jobs. They should ask for people to raise their hands before they just cut good people.
 












Anonymous said:
I don't know where you got that number but it is very optimistic. The actual goal is to go down to PRE-merger Merck numbers, or lower. That would be more like 60k.
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The post merger combined total for US-based employees might be equal to the pre-merger Merck total, but the global total cannot get down to that number without eliminating plants and facilities world-wide and without staffing up to aggressively position to expand into new emerging markets. Staffing up is happening now and eliminating facilities is an excruciatingly slow process. With respect to emerging markets, since a lot of the pharma expenditures and local profit finds its way back to the respective government (or its thieving leaders), these emerging markets almost always demand quid pro quo for market access. This means creating even more value-added jobs in the emerging markets. That means even fewer jobs in the US. The total number of employees tells you nothing about the health of the company any more than the number of tablet presses would. What matters is productivity per employee and Merck has handicapped productivity at every turn. A task that would take 3-4 individuals one month 20 years ago now takes a committee of 20 6 months. Not the least of the Merck-created situations is this Sword of Damocles employment environment which is detracting from productivity by substituting continual worry in the workplace.
 
























Anonymous said:
How do you know? I've heard there are many closed door meetings...
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They already have the first round people picked out. There will be many more rounds. If you have been at Merck/SP for 10-15 years there is a 99% chance of going in one of the first rounds. If your under 40 you can't file a age discrimination lawsuit. They are retooling the whole company. Managers have never been at risk will soon become the main target at least in the USA. This layoff cycle will not end until mid 2013 in the USA. The other geographic regions will actually add people.
 






Anonymous said:
How do you know? I've heard there are many closed door meetings...
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Identifying who is leaving is part of the budget process. Budget processes are closed door affairs partially for those reasons. And when people are put in terms of budgets, the biggest contributor to savings makes the biggest target. Part of the budget process is to identify opportunities and risks. Budget "opportunities" are code for people that can be fired; budget "risks" are code for a need to hire. You are therefore considered a liability by the company. A sort of parasite in other words. Sad but true. No surprise there. The budget includes a headcount target by quarter for 2012. It is clear to the bean-counters then, exactly how many people management thinks it needs (will tolerate) in 2012. When the 2011 savings do not line up with corporate hopes come September, every Vice President will be taken to the woodshed and made to accelerate some future 2012 staff reductions into Q3/Q4 2011. Believe it or not, it is never emotionally easy to let people go so if you really want to go, neither hide the fact that you would go (for the right terms and a "not for you but for the good of the company" explanation) nor sign anything commiting you to that effect. Management will give unspoken precedence to those that seem to least likely to go postal, but nothing is guaranteed. Being perceived as a negative influence almost guarantees your dismissal. Merck simply must be falling behind on its restructuring processes and is caught in a bind. There does not seem to be any good US news that would reverse headcount reductions so over 5 years, 60,000 world-wide is a good estimate. 60,000 overworked, burned-out robots?
 






Anonymous said:
They already have the first round people picked out. There will be many more rounds. If you have been at Merck/SP for 10-15 years there is a 99% chance of going in one of the first rounds. If your under 40 you can't file a age discrimination lawsuit. They are retooling the whole company. Managers have never been at risk will soon become the main target at least in the USA. This layoff cycle will not end until mid 2013 in the USA. The other geographic regions will actually add people.
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Over 50 and 5, lower to moderate income...stay?
 






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