Type
Internal restructuring
Country
World
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Sector
Manufacturing
Manufacture Of Chemicals And Pharamceuticals
Manufacture Of Basic Pharmaceutical Products And Pharmaceutical Preparations
21.1 - Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products

8,500 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
1 October 2013
Employment effect (start)
1 October 2013
Foreseen end date
31 December 2015

Description

On 1 October 2013, the pharmaceutical group Merck announced its plan to reduce its global workforce by 8,500 positions by the end of 2015 in an attempt to cut costs. These job cuts will take place in addition to 7,500 redundancies currently underway. Together with the most recently announced job cuts, the company is planning to reduce its workforce by around 20%.

The company has not yet made a statement on where exactly the restructuring measures will be carried out. News reports, however, suggest that the company’s workforce is currently being reduced in Italy, where 243 staff is being made redundant.

Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) currently employs around 81,000 staff worldwide. 


Sources

  • 1 October 2013: Company website
  • 1 October 2013: BBC

Citation

Eurofound (2013), Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), Internal restructuring in World, factsheet number 75994, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/75994.