Urgent Teleconference @ 1:30 tomorrow; Layoffs are Coming!!

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anonymous said:
Contrary to what you have been told decisions are made first with litigious concerns in mind. Merck does not want any legal issues bubbling to the surface. Oh, and there is this little issue of Merck being a company run by legal.

Second, this is a cost cutting exercise. If you are a highly compensated representative you should be concerned.

Now for those of you who want to hang your hat on performance, as you have been told (oops-insert lied). No.

Several problems here: 1) If Merck ever had to defend the validity of the "numbers" they would drown in the embarrassment and be blown out of the courtroom. 2) Everyone knows Rx is driven by managed care and that is why you are expendable. 3) Merck has maintained a huge portion of their differentiation process on subjective analysis of the local manager--in other words who kisses who's ass the best. So No, performance is not a factor.

I know this because I have been witness to the process at an HQ level in the past. What you are being told and what actually happens---let's just say they could not be more apart.
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It’s actually a pretty random process. They bring in a 3rd party company to carve territories and then basacally re align the sales force. They keep so many people in 50s, 40s, 30s to keep them inline w/ any possible discrimination suits. Same for managers total randomness.
 


















anonymous said:
A word of advice to those that are about to be cut. Last laidoffed employees were provided a severance in one check. If they do this again you might take a big tax hit since you will be in a higher bracket. One option you have to lessen this impact is to save 25% or higher if you can in the 401K. Although since the layoffs will be at year end the severance payments will probably be paid in 2018. If you are a long term employee it is conceivable that you might get a payout that could double your annual salary if paided out in the same year. Something else you will find is that any money you have as after tax in your 401K, You will have the option to roll all of that into a Roth IRA. Again if you can you have a very short window but the payoff especially in opting for a Roth can be very beneficial.
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hey jerk off, whats up. yes, they will be cutting just one check again for severance, just like they always have. There are no options for that, as I've already been through this. This is great news to hear!!! I love it when schmerckass has layoffs.
 






I raised my hand in the 2014 layoffs. I couldn’t have made a better decision. I updated my resume and found a new job fairly quickly making more money than I was with Merck. This past January I went to a small biotech where I received another $15k increase in pay. Merck was toxic when I was there and I am so happy to be gone.

There is life after Merck, in fact it’s a really good life. Good luck to all but I highly recommend raising your hand.
 






anonymous said:
It’s actually a pretty random process. They bring in a 3rd party company to carve territories and then basacally re align the sales force. They keep so many people in 50s, 40s, 30s to keep them inline w/ any possible discrimination suits. Same for managers total randomness.
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This is pretty accurate. Don't think to much of it if you get cut. You could be tops in the nation and get cut. It is not a reflection of your performance or who kisses who's ass. You will be shocked at what managers get cut/or stays and the same for some reps. I've been through this before too after 20 years and I can tell you that it was a gift to be cut. My suggestion is if you were a long timer is to take sometime off, do a few bucket list items. Your resume speaks for itself having been loyal to one company for so long, besides in this day and age if you have 15/20 years w/ one company that is impressive in itself because it's unheard of in in 2017, trust me about this, you are a rare find. You had to do many things right, year after year to be around that long. There is life after Merck and all will be fine. Finally, don't worry about any stupid tax bracket BS from some of the posters. Finally, Just roll w/ it because everything is out of everyones control despite what they think they know or who they know.
 






anonymous said:
This is pretty accurate. Don't think to much of it if you get cut. You could be tops in the nation and get cut. It is not a reflection of your performance or who kisses who's ass. You will be shocked at what managers get cut/or stays and the same for some reps. I've been through this before too after 20 years and I can tell you that it was a gift to be cut. My suggestion is if you were a long timer is to take sometime off, do a few bucket list items. Your resume speaks for itself having been loyal to one company for so long, besides in this day and age if you have 15/20 years w/ one company that is impressive in itself because it's unheard of in in 2017, trust me about this, you are a rare find. You had to do many things right, year after year to be around that long. There is life after Merck and all will be fine. Finally, don't worry about any stupid tax bracket BS from some of the posters. Finally, Just roll w/ it because everything is out of everyones control despite what they think they know or who they know.
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This process sucks. It creates anxiety and tension. I don’t understand the sales groups at Merck. We have never been introduced and we don’t know what customers we overlap. I have to bump into someone in a office or proactively reach out from Veeva. How do you think that looks to customers? Merck needs change and shouldn’t ever have allowed this to happen in the first place. Remember this day. If you stay it will likely happen again in a year or 2. This is the way of pharma now. Less interactions more emails more tech. Pay attention to EBB and listen to what they say. Merck wants to make money, investing in products that are specialty. If you know tech and want to move to Philly- that is the new Merck. Obviously, the wrong people are in place at Merck in tech. Maybe one day there will be laptops that don’t take 20 minutes to turn on and programs that don’t crash or sales resources that are accurate or meaningful. Maybe then people can target their territories in the field accurately. Until then there will be unmotivated frustrated reps checking the box, putting in worthless 4,6,8 calls a day playing the Merck game. States continue to decrease access and monitor spending. A good manager is hard to find. I hope they can keep people with knowledge and relationships that are helpful and not back stabbers. The crap has to go. I’m not sure a layoff gets rid of what Merck needs to get rid of.
 






anonymous said:
This process sucks. It creates anxiety and tension. I don’t understand the sales groups at Merck. We have never been introduced and we don’t know what customers we overlap. I have to bump into someone in a office or proactively reach out from Veeva. How do you think that looks to customers? Merck needs change and shouldn’t ever have allowed this to happen in the first place. Remember this day. If you stay it will likely happen again in a year or 2. This is the way of pharma now. Less interactions more emails more tech. Pay attention to EBB and listen to what they say. Merck wants to make money, investing in products that are specialty. If you know tech and want to move to Philly- that is the new Merck. Obviously, the wrong people are in place at Merck in tech. Maybe one day there will be laptops that don’t take 20 minutes to turn on and programs that don’t crash or sales resources that are accurate or meaningful. Maybe then people can target their territories in the field accurately. Until then there will be unmotivated frustrated reps checking the box, putting in worthless 4,6,8 calls a day playing the Merck game. States continue to decrease access and monitor spending. A good manager is hard to find. I hope they can keep people with knowledge and relationships that are helpful and not back stabbers. The crap has to go. I’m not sure a layoff gets rid of what Merck needs to get rid of.
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Listen, this is an INDUSTRY problem. This is happening everywhere so you will not be able to go some where else and think the grass is greener, It is not. This Industry is a shell of what it was 20 years ago. Today, if you are a rep you are just an number in a territory. This is a BLUE COLLAR job and has been for 25 years. Anyone who is fooled into thinking this is anything else is in serious denial. Reps at every company are just logging 4,6,8 fantom calls a day and corp knows it. The biggest farce is DM/RM level positions they actually think there is something to manage and have ruined moral and corp culture throughout the industry for years. Just read some of the other CP posts on other Big Company boards they are all the same. This Industry has changed and not for the better. I'll I can say is move on w/ dignity, know you had a nice run if you have 10,15, 20 years in and find a nice adult second career act because Pharma is not an adult job anymore and hasn't been one for years.
 






anonymous said:
Listen, this is an INDUSTRY problem. This is happening everywhere so you will not be able to go some where else and think the grass is greener, It is not. This Industry is a shell of what it was 20 years ago. Today, if you are a rep you are just an number in a territory. This is a BLUE COLLAR job and has been for 25 years. Anyone who is fooled into thinking this is anything else is in serious denial. Reps at every company are just logging 4,6,8 fantom calls a day and corp knows it. The biggest farce is DM/RM level positions they actually think there is something to manage and have ruined moral and corp culture throughout the industry for years. Just read some of the other CP posts on other Big Company boards they are all the same. This Industry has changed and not for the better. I'll I can say is move on w/ dignity, know you had a nice run if you have 10,15, 20 years in and find a nice adult second career act because Pharma is not an adult job anymore and hasn't been one for years.
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That’s exactly what I meant. No pharma company is safe, you get lucky if you have a drug covered and competition doesn’t have a better indication. But Merck can make changes that would make us better positioned in the market and not waste our time and their money. This stuff is getting old and being bull dozed by competition because of Merck’s crappy excuses for legal taking too long to get resources approved is getting old fast. No other company has this mentality anymore. Reps launch with detail pieces and medical doctors go in the field with reps and answer questions quickly at other companies. Stop hiding behind shitty excuses of legal Merck you’re ruining our reputation in the field and getting rid of our access.
 






anonymous said:
Listen, this is an INDUSTRY problem. This is happening everywhere so you will not be able to go some where else and think the grass is greener, It is not. This Industry is a shell of what it was 20 years ago. Today, if you are a rep you are just an number in a territory. This is a BLUE COLLAR job and has been for 25 years. Anyone who is fooled into thinking this is anything else is in serious denial. Reps at every company are just logging 4,6,8 fantom calls a day and corp knows it. The biggest farce is DM/RM level positions they actually think there is something to manage and have ruined moral and corp culture throughout the industry for years. Just read some of the other CP posts on other Big Company boards they are all the same. This Industry has changed and not for the better. I'll I can say is move on w/ dignity, know you had a nice run if you have 10,15, 20 years in and find a nice adult second career act because Pharma is not an adult job anymore and hasn't been one for years.
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100% spot on posting...kudos...Pharma sales is a total joke...

basically a kindergarten for adults with powder puff liberal arts degrees...You have no idea how screwed you
are going to be if laid off and having to start over in the real world...good luck everybody...hope you saved well.
 






anonymous said:
100% spot on posting...kudos...Pharma sales is a total joke...

basically a kindergarten for adults with powder puff liberal arts degrees...You have no idea how screwed you
are going to be if laid off and having to start over in the real world...good luck everybody...hope you saved well.
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A little dramatic, however you will be fine after Merck and Co. You will not be screwed...you will just need realistic expectations.
 






anonymous said:
That’s exactly what I meant. No pharma company is safe, you get lucky if you have a drug covered and competition doesn’t have a better indication. But Merck can make changes that would make us better positioned in the market and not waste our time and their money. This stuff is getting old and being bull dozed by competition because of Merck’s crappy excuses for legal taking too long to get resources approved is getting old fast. No other company has this mentality anymore. Reps launch with detail pieces and medical doctors go in the field with reps and answer questions quickly at other companies. Stop hiding behind shitty excuses of legal Merck you’re ruining our reputation in the field and getting rid of our access.
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They are all the same, You are wrong. The bigger the company the more childish the job anymore. If you get another job w/ in big Pharma you will be required to go through initial training again, it's a legal thing. They are all the same, you can not escape. If you can put up w/ that..good luck.
 






Here is the next nugget. If you are one of the ones that think they are the super star sales person / needs to live in the best neighborhood, shops all the time, kids in private school and keeps up w/ the Jones's, you are going to feel "A LOT OF PAIN". This is not a Sales job and no real sales company is going to care about your suit or purse as a matter of fact that is going to hurt you. The one thing which will be a lot of fun to watch unfold is the DMs/RMs going through this because they for sure are totally delusional human beings and there are LESS of those jobs.
 












anonymous said:
Here is the next nugget. If you are one of the ones that think they are the super star sales person / needs to live in the best neighborhood, shops all the time, kids in private school and keeps up w/ the Jones's, you are going to feel "A LOT OF PAIN". This is not a Sales job and no real sales company is going to care about your suit or purse as a matter of fact that is going to hurt you. The one thing which will be a lot of fun to watch unfold is the DMs/RMs going through this because they for sure are totally delusional human beings and there are LESS of those jobs.
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You are totally describing Vaccine DCO, Thomas L. Lyon III. I hope he gets canned. He has been w/ Merck since he got out of college since 1993 and he is 46 years old. Because his dad was some business professor at a ritzy privat Midwest school, this guy waltzed in Merck, barely selling anything, and made it to management quickly. He knows nothing but pukes out useless corporate buzzwords and unrealistic sales tactics. He is now just a two faced liar trying to hold onto his job. He is probably making 150 to 200k plus bonuses/stock options and he isn't worth a dime of it. Merck could save money firing this useless nanomanager.
 






anonymous said:
I raised my hand in the 2014 layoffs. I couldn’t have made a better decision. I updated my resume and found a new job fairly quickly making more money than I was with Merck. This past January I went to a small biotech where I received another $15k increase in pay. Merck was toxic when I was there and I am so happy to be gone.

There is life after Merck, in fact it’s a really good life. Good luck to all but I highly recommend raising your hand.
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Biotech? Good for you for getting out years ago and earning the big bucks. Unfortunately very few Merck reps, even in the good old days, are able to land a job in biotech. Those companies look for pedigrees, you know, country club types: smart, connected, attractive and well below the 50 year old mark. The process for joining places like Celgene, Amgen, Genentech is brutal. Of the 900 severed soon, maybe 5 in the entire US might get hired within biotech. OP, please don't give false hopes, pc/hospital reps at Merck should be looking for contract rep jobs paying 50-60k. If you are one of the 5 who biotech answers your call expect the hiring process to take 6 months. Also expect 6 phone screens, multiple live interviews, psych test (yes), wicked background tests,etc. Panel interviews are brutal, high level reprint discussions while getting peppered with questions. Then, if hired, boot camp training is nasty with 50% of hires sent home for not making the grade. Folks, just being honest, it's doggy dog out there right now.

Signed,

Merck guy laid off 2 years ago, now at hq at GENE.
 






anonymous said:
Here is the next nugget. If you are one of the ones that think they are the super star sales person / needs to live in the best neighborhood, shops all the time, kids in private school and keeps up w/ the Jones's, you are going to feel "A LOT OF PAIN". This is not a Sales job and no real sales company is going to care about your suit or purse as a matter of fact that is going to hurt you. The one thing which will be a lot of fun to watch unfold is the DMs/RMs going through this because they for sure are totally delusional human beings and there are LESS of those jobs.
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One thing is for sure. If you are fortunate enough to find employment, get ready to actually start working and putting in long hours. Gone will be the "flexible" schedule.
 






anonymous said:
Biotech? Good for you for getting out years ago and earning the big bucks. Unfortunately very few Merck reps, even in the good old days, are able to land a job in biotech. Those companies look for pedigrees, you know, country club types: smart, connected, attractive and well below the 50 year old mark. The process for joining places like Celgene, Amgen, Genentech is brutal. Of the 900 severed soon, maybe 5 in the entire US might get hired within biotech. OP, please don't give false hopes, pc/hospital reps at Merck should be looking for contract rep jobs paying 50-60k. If you are one of the 5 who biotech answers your call expect the hiring process to take 6 months. Also expect 6 phone screens, multiple live interviews, psych test (yes), wicked background tests,etc. Panel interviews are brutal, high level reprint discussions while getting peppered with questions. Then, if hired, boot camp training is nasty with 50% of hires sent home for not making the grade. Folks, just being honest, it's doggy dog out there right now.

Signed,

Merck guy laid off 2 years ago, now at hq at GENE.
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All BS
 






hahahahahaha!!! Good enough for you clowns. This will bring you down a few notches. Try replacing your current lazyass salary now! Hahahaha!! All the good jobs are now taken. You might land that $50,000 contract job! Oh wait, thats more like $40,000! I'd say good luck but I wish you no luck. Couldn't happen to a more deserving group of people. Now EAT
 






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