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As the recession slogs on, it is likely that many more people will lose their jobs and you might find yourself in the unenviable position of having to commiserate or console a friend or colleague was layed off. Not surprisingly, this is often a difficult and delicate situation that requires some sensitivity and tact. 

Because many of us have never been layed off or fired, it is often difficult to know what to say or more importantly determine what a person who lost their job may want from family and friends. To that end, there was a wonderful article in today’s New York Times that offers some insightful suggestions and guidance on navigating a conversation or meeting with a friend or colleague who recently lost their job.

Read and learn!!!!!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!

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I know this is kind of odd, but I have recently begun to wonder which life sciences companies have layed off the most employees this past year. Well, for those of you out there who were also wondering we don't have to wonder any longer because Ed Silverman over at the Pharmalot blog has conveniently compiled a list of the top offenders for us. For those of you who may be wondering which company was number one on the list, it’s name begins with a “P” and ends with an “r.”

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!
 

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According to a recent analysis conducted by Covalence a Geneva Switzerland-based organization that tracks the ethical reputation of multinationals, the pharmaceutical industry’s ethical reputation dropped from first to third on Covalence’s all-time EthicalQuote ranking that monitors 10 industries. Further, over the past year, pharma has only managed to achieve an overall ranking of 8th on the list.

The reasons given for the ongoing decline are increased attention on product risk and decreasing media coverage of donations and philanthropy of pharmaceutical companies. The recent high profile coverage of the safety risks associated GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil and Merck’s Vioxx are good examples of why the ethical image of pharma continues on its downward spiral.

To improve their image, ethicists recommend that drug companies showcase innovative drugs in poor countries, reduce prices to increase access to drugs and loosen intellectual property rights so that there is global access to potentially life-saving drugs. While several companies like Merck and Roche have gone down this path, it may be too little too late.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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The Pharmalot Blog reported today that Schering Plough will eliminate 1,000sales jobs or 20% of its sales force by October. This latest round of layoffs is part of a reorganization plan that was announced last year to cut 10% of it workforce by 2012 (although must of the downsizing will occur by 2010). The reorganization was announced shortly after Schering purchased Organon Biosciences and the “wheels came off” of its Zetia/Vytorin anti-cholesterol medication franchise.

In other news, BioJobBlog heard through the grapevine that Merck has been quietly laying off workers (since Labor Day) in an attempt to reduce its workforce by 20% over the next few years. Many very talented people who have been with Merck for years are looking for new jobs.

Finally, Montvale, NJ-based Memory Pharmaceuticals announced that it was laying off 55 workers or roughly 50% of its workforce. The company, which went public in a much heralded IPO in 2004, focuses on developing treatments for cognitive disorders. Although the company has never been profitable, the person who ran the company for the past three years (first as president, then CEO and finally CFO) earned $876,807 last year. Not surprisingly, he will be leaving the company as part of the downsizing initiative.

The ongoing pharma slowdown coupled with this week’s Wall Street meltdown (many people who work on Wall Street live in New Jersey) should make New Jersey a very challenging and interesting place to live in the coming months.

Hat tip to Ed at Pharmalot.

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (I would avoid NJ)!!!!!!

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On the heels of yesterday’s announcement that it wants to buy Genentech, Roche, in a surprise move, announced today that it will move its Nutley, NJ-based US corporate headquarters to California. According to a report, research and development activities in oncology and metabolism at the Nutley site will be expanded. However, the company will consolidate all Nutley-based finance and information-technology operations and close manufacturing facilities on the site by 2010. It is not clear how many of Roche’s 3,240 New Jersey employees will be affected by the proposed move to South San Francisco. Suffice it to say, more than a few Roche employees are likely to lose their jobs after the company’s headquarters heads west.

Once dubbed the”nation's medicine chest”, New Jersey has steadily been losing pharmaceutical jobs since 1990 when 20% of all US pharmaceutical jobs were in NJ—at present 13.7% of  American pharmaceutical jobs reside in NJ. It has been a long, slow burn for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology workforce in the Garden State.

The Roche announcement comes as several other New Jersey drug makers, including Schering-Plough and Johnson & Johnson's Ortho Biotech unit, have been laying off workers because of the economic downturn and tough times in the industry. It also comes several days after Barr Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in Montvale, announced that it is being acquired for $7.5 billion by Israeli generics giant Teva.  

The growing scarcity of pharmaceutical and biotechnology jobs coupled with the highest property taxes in the US may cause a mass migration from the state. Not that there is anything wrong with that!!!!!!

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

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I happened upon a Sunday morning talk show yesterday where one of the guests was discussing strategies that employees ought to adopt to keep their jobs in a recessionary economy. For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, the US economy lost 63,000 jobs last month; another bit of evidence that we are sliding into an unavoidable recession. 

The talk show guest posited that only those employees who were able to quickly adapt to rapidly changing corporate/business environments would keep their jobs; the other less adaptable employees would find themselves jobless. Call me crazy, but his analysis sounded eerily similar to Darwin’s principle of natural selection or “survival of the fittest”–only those members of a population who were able to adapt (through mutations in Darwin’s case)  to changing environmental conditions will survive; the other less adaptable members will perish. Imagine that, using a recessionary economy to illustrate one of the fundamental principles of Darwin’s theory of evolution–how cool is that?

Here are some insights into how to keep your job during a recession when many companies are unstable and in flux. First, employees who work at financially-troubled companies must embrace the changes frequently instituted by management whether or not they agree with them. Invariably, there will be a cadre of employees who openly and publicly criticize the “new corporate policies”–these will likely be the employees who are demoted or “right-sized” out of the company.  In Darwinian terms, these employees are unable to adapt to change and they will either be eliminated or their standing in the population (company) will be diminished.  On the other hand, the employees who are able to embrace change will not lose their jobs and will likely be able to maintain or improve their standing in the population (company).  In other words, adaptable employees have a selective, competitive advantage over unadaptable ones which will allow them to survive and flourish in their new environment. Second, it is probably not wise during periods of corporate upheaval, for mid-level managers or employees to tout their past accomplishments or remind management about their worth to the company. In times of change, management embraces individuals with forward-looking ideas (to facilitate change) not those who are rooted in the past and are invested in antiquated corporate policies and practices. Again, only those employees who adapt will be able to survive and compete in their new corporate environment.  Finally, as a science educator, it is always exhilarating and exciting to find new ways to teach Darwin’s Theory (sic) of Evolution so that it makes sense to lay audiences. Maybe watching Sunday morning talk shows isn’t a waste of time after all!!!!

Until next time… 

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (adapt)!!!!!!!!!

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