This post always seems to mysteriously disappear from the BioFind Rumor mill and they are now blocking all repostings of it. Here is a compilation of the highlights of the original post with any offensive material removed for your enjoyment and/or edification. There is no reason why it should be removed now. . . . .
Pfizer needed to downsize because they are moving most of their R&D overseas. As an attorney ole Jeffie knew that a high wrongful termination settlement was on the order of $100,000. So here was the plan he put into action. The company would downsize and offer a “generous” severance package, often a year’s salary or approximately $100,000 for workers who were highly paid and had been with the company for more than ten years, which were exactly the people Pfizer was looking to get rid of. Then came the bogus performance reviews. If you were too old, too well paid, too smart for your own good, resisted the outsourcing mentality, or just in the wrong place at the wrong time, then you got a bad review. Shortly after the bad review you were “deselected” and offered the “generous” severance package.
The severance package was simply Pfizer’s way of settling its discrimination lawsuits before they began. You see, when you are almost 50 and have a family, you can’t afford to fight Pfizer in court even if you are right. First, they will tie you up in court and you won’t see any money for years. Second, if your settlement is likely to be what they are offering you in the first place, and if you fight a lawyer will take a third of it anyway, fighting makes no sense and few lawyers would bother to take your case.
Lawyers want quick moderately profitable hits to pay the bills, not to wait 10 years for a big payoff which may or may not happen. Incidentally, most of the employment attorneys in the New London/Groton area have taken payoffs from Big Blue (and I don't mean IBM) so don’t even bother consulting them, get an attorney from out of town who will work on commission, and they will if you have a strong case.
Kindler’s strategy was in fact brilliant. Using it, Pfizer could treat any employee any way they wanted to, and they did. The company is a wrecking machine, and they will stomp anyone who challenges them or refuses to bow down with absolutely no hesitation.
What is truly amazing to me is that everyone knows what is going on at Pfizer yet we have seen no big news stories on what has been happening. Where is 60 minutes, 20/20, or dateline? Any reporter with the brains of a dishrag who started digging could get a great story. Unfortunately, all those people who were coerced into taking the severance by Pfizer signed statements saying they would not say anything derogatory about the company. Unfortunately in this case, the truth about what happened is derogatory.
You might want to save this post to your hard drive before it is deleted. Then you can repost it so the truth can be heard. Pfizer is very good at bullying people and suppressing the truth.
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This is EXACTLY what happened to me. Been out for a few months now. Still trying to put my head back together from what was done to me over the last few years I was there. Probably had enough info for a lawsuit, but didn't want the stress so I took the money and ran. Don't know if I will ever want to work in science again...
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The problem is hard evidence, like e-mails, recorded conversations, etc. Otherwise, it's just your word against their and that is like fighting City Hall.
But I do agree with the post 100%. Pfizer careful skewed the numbers via their "Schedule A" to "prove" they didn't age discriminate but I think they planned this in advance by hiring a small number of incompetent kids straight out of College in '07-'08 that they KNEW they would pfire in two years or so to round out the age distribution. They were salting the numbers, as it were, to hide the real targets- the older worker. In fact, they openly admitted in Groton at that time that they were being told to hire ONLY R1's and R2"s for open positions. They even sent R3's and R4's to second rate Universities to recruit the cannon fodder for their grand plan.
I knew I was a gonner, so I confronted the establishment anyway about the way they kept the threat of layoffs alive for months on end just to try to get as many people as possible to leave voluntarily in advance, another one of their obvious strategies. Everyone from Kindler on down knew how I felt about the situation. On the surface, they responded with political correctness to pretend they cared. Under the table, they told me to shut up or I'd get no severance.
I sincerely hope somebody can provide the documentation to get the ball rolling on a suit one day. My two year limitation is almost up with regards to my severance waiver, so I'd be happy to tell my story in detail if asked down the road. I want to see them burn.
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Having worked at Pfizer Groton for over twenty years, it is truly amazing how many people with solid 10, 15, and 20 year track records have been let go for "poor performance" since 2008. As aggressive as the attorney general is in the state of CT, I find it very surprising that no one from that office has investigated this matter. I cannot understand why the state is giving them a pass on this matter because Pfizer is clearly going to uproot and move from the state as soon as it is practical for them to do so. I know many have complained to Richard Blumenthal's office but so far nothing of substance has been done. I guess he has been too busy running for Senate.
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"I believe JK to be a fundamentally decent chap who has been pandering to a Board consisting of "value-destroying old men" for far too long, and has been dumped for daring to take them on at last."
Are you kidding me? You must have your head up your ass.
What he deserves is to become completely bankrupt and discredited, whether that be by scandal like Kenneth Lay and Bernie Madoff, or some other means. Make him poor like he made so many of us. That would be justice.
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This isn't the first time this sort of information has been posted about Pfizer or Kindler. I wonder if they've been hit with a class action suit of some kind and that is why they are suddenly so keen on keeping everyone quiet?
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Pfizer needed to downsize because they are moving most of their R&D overseas. As an attorney ole Jeffie knew that a high wrongful termination settlement was on the order of $100,000. So here was the plan he put into action. The company would downsize and offer a “generous” severance package, often a year’s salary or approximately $100,000 for workers who were highly paid and had been with the company for more than ten years, which were exactly the people Pfizer was looking to get rid of. Then came the bogus performance reviews. If you were too old, too well paid, too smart for your own good, resisted the outsourcing mentality, or just in the wrong place at the wrong time, then you got a bad review. Shortly after the bad review you were “deselected” and offered the “generous” severance package.
The severance package was simply Pfizer’s way of settling its discrimination lawsuits before they began. You see, when you are almost 50 and have a family, you can’t afford to fight Pfizer in court even if you are right. First, they will tie you up in court and you won’t see any money for years. Second, if your settlement is likely to be what they are offering you in the first place, and if you fight a lawyer will take a third of it anyway, fighting makes no sense and few lawyers would bother to take your case.
Lawyers want quick moderately profitable hits to pay the bills, not to wait 10 years for a big payoff which may or may not happen. Incidentally, most of the employment attorneys in the New London/Groton area have taken payoffs from Big Blue (and I don't mean IBM) so don’t even bother consulting them, get an attorney from out of town who will work on commission, and they will if you have a strong case.
Kindler’s strategy was in fact brilliant. Using it, Pfizer could treat any employee any way they wanted to, and they did. The company is a wrecking machine, and they will stomp anyone who challenges them or refuses to bow down with absolutely no hesitation.
What is truly amazing to me is that everyone knows what is going on at Pfizer yet we have seen no big news stories on what has been happening. Where is 60 minutes, 20/20, or dateline? Any reporter with the brains of a dishrag who started digging could get a great story. Unfortunately, all those people who were coerced into taking the severance by Pfizer signed statements saying they would not say anything derogatory about the company. Unfortunately in this case, the truth about what happened is derogatory.
You might want to save this post to your hard drive before it is deleted. Then you can repost it so the truth can be heard. Pfizer is very good at bullying people and suppressing the truth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is EXACTLY what happened to me. Been out for a few months now. Still trying to put my head back together from what was done to me over the last few years I was there. Probably had enough info for a lawsuit, but didn't want the stress so I took the money and ran. Don't know if I will ever want to work in science again...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The problem is hard evidence, like e-mails, recorded conversations, etc. Otherwise, it's just your word against their and that is like fighting City Hall.
But I do agree with the post 100%. Pfizer careful skewed the numbers via their "Schedule A" to "prove" they didn't age discriminate but I think they planned this in advance by hiring a small number of incompetent kids straight out of College in '07-'08 that they KNEW they would pfire in two years or so to round out the age distribution. They were salting the numbers, as it were, to hide the real targets- the older worker. In fact, they openly admitted in Groton at that time that they were being told to hire ONLY R1's and R2"s for open positions. They even sent R3's and R4's to second rate Universities to recruit the cannon fodder for their grand plan.
I knew I was a gonner, so I confronted the establishment anyway about the way they kept the threat of layoffs alive for months on end just to try to get as many people as possible to leave voluntarily in advance, another one of their obvious strategies. Everyone from Kindler on down knew how I felt about the situation. On the surface, they responded with political correctness to pretend they cared. Under the table, they told me to shut up or I'd get no severance.
I sincerely hope somebody can provide the documentation to get the ball rolling on a suit one day. My two year limitation is almost up with regards to my severance waiver, so I'd be happy to tell my story in detail if asked down the road. I want to see them burn.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having worked at Pfizer Groton for over twenty years, it is truly amazing how many people with solid 10, 15, and 20 year track records have been let go for "poor performance" since 2008. As aggressive as the attorney general is in the state of CT, I find it very surprising that no one from that office has investigated this matter. I cannot understand why the state is giving them a pass on this matter because Pfizer is clearly going to uproot and move from the state as soon as it is practical for them to do so. I know many have complained to Richard Blumenthal's office but so far nothing of substance has been done. I guess he has been too busy running for Senate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I believe JK to be a fundamentally decent chap who has been pandering to a Board consisting of "value-destroying old men" for far too long, and has been dumped for daring to take them on at last."
Are you kidding me? You must have your head up your ass.
What he deserves is to become completely bankrupt and discredited, whether that be by scandal like Kenneth Lay and Bernie Madoff, or some other means. Make him poor like he made so many of us. That would be justice.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This isn't the first time this sort of information has been posted about Pfizer or Kindler. I wonder if they've been hit with a class action suit of some kind and that is why they are suddenly so keen on keeping everyone quiet?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------