Mirror, Mirror On the Wall: Which Recent College Graduates Have the Highest Unemployment Rates of All?

It is no secret that recent college graduates are having a tough time finding work. However, not all college majors are created equal and the unemployment rates among different disciplines are likely to vary. To answer this question, a group of researchers at the Georgetown Center on Education and Workforce analyzed employment data for recent college graduates from an in-depth US census study entitled the American Community Survey conducted in 2009 and 2010. In the study, recent college grades were defined as workers (with college degrees of course) between ages 22 and 26.

The results of the study are shown in the graph below.

The data clearly show that among recent college grads, those who studied architecture have the highest unemployment rate at 13.9%. This finding was not that surprisingly given that the collapse of the housing and construction markets were mainly responsible for the ongoing recession that began in 2007. 

Unemployment rates were lowest among college graduates with training in education and healthcare. Again, these results are not that start. Again, these results were not startling because the US population continues to age (healthcare-related jobs) and the number of school-aged children skyrocketed in the past 20 years (education jobs).

Interestingly, the unemployment rate among engineering graduate, 7.4% is relatively high despite the fact that HR and employment experts contend that there is a shortage of engineers in the US.

Finally, unemployment rates among graduates with art degrees and those who possess degrees in the humanities and liberal art are still very high at 11.1% and 9.4% respectively. That said, maybe getting that MS or PhD degree in the life sciences was not such a bad idea after all!

Until next time...

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

 

Alcon Announces Plans to Expand Its Workforce In Texas

Despite a stalling economy, there are signs that some American companies are hiring and helping to improve local economies. A good of example of this is Alcon Laboratories located in Fort Worth, Texas. The company, which specializes in vision products, today announced that it leased 87,000 sq. feet of office space to house 400 new employees that it is moving into the Fort Worth area.

The company immediately needed the space to accommodate employees relocating from Atlanta and to house new hires as the company plans to expand existing facilities in south Fort Worth. Alcon was acquired this past April by Novartis, which operate the Atlanta-based CIBA Vision and Novartis Ophthalmic Units which are being consolidated into Alcon’s existing Forth Worth operations. While some of Novartis’ Atlanta employees lost their jobs as a result of the Alcon acquisition, many of them are relocating to new jobs at the Forth Worth facility.

Alcon notified Fort Worth city officials that it plans on expanding its current workforce of 3,200 to about 4,000 and spends millions of dollars to expand existing facilities over the next few years. Ironically, while most big US pharmaceutical companies are slashing domestic jobs and investing in emerging markets like China and India, Novartis, a Swiss company, is investing in America! Go figure!!!!!!!

Until next time...

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

 

Move Over China and India: Latin American Markets Are Sizzling

While China and India have gotten the most attention as emerging pharmaceutical markets, Latin American markets most notably Mexico and Brazil (okay, it is a South American country but it can be included in Latin America) have been quietly expanding as rapidly as the Indian and Chinese markets. To wit, Denmark-based, Novo Nordisk—the world’s largest insulin maker—recently announced that it will be beefing up its medical consultant (aka sales reps) presence in Latin America over the next two to three years. During this period, the company expects to increase its current headcount of 300 to 800 employees.

Novo currently holds a 50 percent share of the Latin American insulin market. The company currently generates annual sales in Latin America of approximately $360 million. But, its main rivals Sanofi Aventis and Eli Lilly & Co, which sell faster-acting insulins, are beginning to cut into Novo’s market share.  The solution: add more sales reps in the region. While this may be great news for Latin American sales reps, it is not good news for American sales reps. Unless, of course, these reps speak Spanish and are willing to relocate!

Until next time...

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

 

Generic Drug Manufacturer Teva Will Eliminate 1,500 US Jobs

After completing the $6.8 billion purchase of Pennsylvania-based Cephalon, Teva, the world’s largest generic drug manufacturer announced plans to eliminate about 1,500 US jobs, most of them at Cephalon. Cephalon, which has several marketed products, currently employees about 3,700 US-based persons. This means that Teva will cut Cephalon’s workforce by about 40 percent.

According to a post on today’s Pharmalot blog, a company spokesperson said that the jobs that will be eliminated will be those that overlap with those functions already being performed by Teva. Layoffs at Cephalon were not unexpected as the company had previously identified approximately $500 million in possible savings that it would implement after the deal closed.

If layoffs at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies continue at their current pace, I am not sure that there will be a US life sciences industry in the future.

Until next time...

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

 

Parity for Women in the Workplace Is Still Lacking

Despite the fact that women in the US earn nearly 60 percent of four-year college degrees and make up almost half of the American workforce, women held about 14 percent of senior executive positions at Fortune 500 companies. An even lower percentage of female scientists hold tenure track faculty positions. 

Sadly, the number of female executives hasn’t budged since 2005 nor has there been an increase in appointment of women scientists to tenure track positions. This phenomenon is analyzed in a recent article written by Phyllis Korkki entitled “For Women, Parity IS Still a Subtly Steep Climb.” Experts interviewed in the article contend that the inability of women to reach parity in the workplace can be attributed to “entrenched sexism” in the workplace that is present both sexes. Ms Korkki describes how this plays out in the workplace and how it can be overcome by both men and women. 

The article is a fascinating and insight read: I highly recommend it!!!!

Until next time...

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

 

Okay, Maybe Big Pharma Layoffs Are Not Over: AstraZeneca to Eliminate 400 US Jobs

Astra Zeneca today announced that it will eliminate 400 positions at the company’s Wilmington, DE headquarters. Most of the cuts will be in sales and marketing and the downsizing is intended “streamline portions of its commercial business to best serve patients in the US.”

According to a press release, about 70 of the estimated 400 job cuts will come from existing unfilled vacancies. Also, employees will have the option to choose to potentially leave the company with a possible package. All decisions will be finalized by early December.

Like many of its competitors, AstraZeneca is facing fierce competition from generic manufacturers and downward pricing pressures. The company currently employs 61,000 persons worldwide including 14,000 in North America.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!

 

More Workforce Diversity is Needed in the Life Sciences

As scientists, we all  subscribe to the notion that diversity is a critical component to the evolution of any species. While we this is a well known fact, the life sciences industry, like others, struggles with workforce diversity mainly in the area of research and development. For example the number of minority students—blacks and hispanics—who receive PhD degrees is miniscule as compared with their white counterparts.  Graduate schools struggle to promote diversity in their programs but their efforts to date have been lackluster.

One of the factors that contribute to the lack of representation of minority students in the life sciences may be the lack of access to equal educational opportunities. With this in mind, the folks over at onlinecolleges.net sent me a post that has a plethora of information about the state of minority education in the US. I culled relevant information from the list and reproduced it for this post.

Stereotyping impairs performance

A startling Ohio State University study exploring the effects of racial stereotyping uncovered some very unfortunate truths. Nearly 160 African-American students were asked to write an essay about an average college student, either named "Tyrone" or "Erik," with the implication being that the former is black and the latter white. Those assigned Tyrone scored an average of 4.5 on a standardized test, while Team Erik ended up with 6.2. Although possessing equal academic aptitude, researchers believe prevailing stereotypes negatively impact performance — thus creating an unjust cycle reinforced by students and teachers alike. 

Hispanic high school students had the highest dropout rate in 2009

The National Center for Educational Statistics shows that 17.6% of Hispanic high school students drop out before completing their diplomas or GEDs. Reasons vary from kid to kid, of course, and do not necessarily denote poor grades or discipline. On a positive note, however, Hispanic dropout rates decline steadily every year, with 2008 seeing 18.3% of the high school population leaving before graduating. 

Minorities comprise 32% of undergraduate enrollees

Undergraduate enrollment has actually increased among all racial and ethnic demographics, although minorities remain heavily underrepresented on American college campuses. Only 32% of postsecondary students are minorities as of 2004 statistics, but their numbers increase yearly — certainly a positive trend. Between 1976 and 2004, Asians and Pacific Islanders experienced the highest rate of increase, boasting a whopping 461%. So while the number still seems low these days, minorities are definitely catching up on campus and enjoy more opportunities to have their voices heard and heeded.

Minorities comprise 25% of graduate enrollees

With increased minority undergraduate enrollment came more representation in graduate programs, though at a slower pace. 2004 statistics showed that 25% of master’s and doctoral students were minorities, up from 11% in 1976. The most rampant increase occurred among Hispanics, at 377%. Once again, there’s absolutely nothing "scary" about more opportunities and representation in higher education. But the numbers could definitely be higher, especially since more enrollees means more imperative to address diverse needs.

Minorities comprise 10.2% of private school principals

In total, of course, as statistics vary rapidly depending on what — if any — denomination owns and operates the schools in question. Seventh-Day Adventist institutions lead the way, with 26.4% minority principals. Administrators of black, non-Hispanic or Latino descent are most prevalent, particularly in Seventh-Day Adventist (17.7%) and Pentecostal (14.7%) schools. They also make up 5.2% of total minority principals. When it comes to private education, more needs doing to ensure minority students and staff alike see their requests properly met.

The majority of black and Hispanic students attend high-poverty schools

Statistics from 2005 school year revealed that black and Hispanic students populate high-poverty schools more than any other minority. The National Center for Education Statistics considers "high-poverty schools," which are those with 75% or more attendees receiving free or reduced-price lunches. Forty-eight percent of black and 49% of Hispanic 4th graders hail from such desperately wanting institutions, while Asians and Pacific Islanders are more evenly distributed across economic demographics. 

Hispanic and black students are less likely to have internet access at home

Because of this, they adapt to classroom technology at a slower pace than their white, Asian and Native American peers. Twenty-six percent of Hispanic and 27% of black students use the internet at home, compared to 58% of Asian and 47% of Native American kids, resulting in a very unfortunate achievement gap. Numbers are improving, of course, but there’s still a ways to go before the gulf starts shrinking.

Schools with black or Hispanic majorities are more likely to hire underqualified or novice teachers

In fact, 25% of math educators at schools with 50% or more black students do not hold a degree or any other qualifications in the subjects they teach — probably the most egregious example. And once said teachers rack up the experience, they usually flee to more affluent (and white) areas. Such an unfortunate and enduring phenomenon plays a major role in perpetuating, if not outright widening, the achievement gap. Without knowledgeable, experienced and engaged teachers, students in affected schools typically lag behind and never receive the academic opportunities that should be afforded all youngsters. 

More black students repeat grades than any other racial or ethnic demographic

Both genders, too. In 2007, 25.6% of black males and 15.3% of black females between kindergarten and 12th grade had repeated at least one grade. These numbers, though, only reflect the issue as it relates to public school students. 

More black students receive suspensions and expulsions than any other racial or ethnic demographic

Between 6th and 12th grades, the 2007 school year saw 49.5% of black males and 34.7% of black females reporting that they had received at least one suspension in their academic careers. When it comes to expulsions, 16.6% of males and 8.2% of females said they had been dismissed from school at least once.

Hispanic teenagers have the highest pregnancy rate

In 2007, 81.7 out of every 1,000 Hispanic teenage girls gave birth — more than any other race or ethnicity. Across all demographics, however, the numbers are steadily decreasing.

This probably has something to do with improved sex education and easier access to necessary birth control devices, though the problem still requires considerable intervention. Especially since popping out babies as a high schooler is all trendy these days.

Clearly, until some of these problems are addressed, then it is likely that workforce diversity in the life sciences will continue to lag.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

 

More Evidence That Big Pharma's Investment in R&D Will Continue to Wane

There is no longer any doubt that big pharma companies are beginning to reduce their emphasis on internal R&D activities. Instead the companies will increasingly rely on outsourcing, partnerships, closer collaborations with academia, public private partnerships and M&A to keep their drug development pipelines full

Therefore it was not surprising when Merck’s new CEO, Kenneth Frazier recently mentioned in a conference call to financial analysts and investors that its multi-billion spending on new drug R & D will likely decline as a percentage of overall sales in the coming years. Merck is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world

According to an article on Nasdaq.com, in 2010, Merck spent $11 billion on R&D, or 24% of total sales. Adjusted to exclude certain acquisition-related and other costs, R&D spending was $8.1 billion. Merck has predicted 2011 adjusted R&D spending would be $8.1 billion to $8.5 billion for 2011.

Frazier, the first African American CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, came under pressure earlier this year after he decided to not substantially cut R&D as many of Merck’s rivals, most notably Pfizer, did. He noted that cuts in R&D spending would have jeopardized Merck’s long term product development pipeline.

While rumors persist that Merck may be seeking to jettison its non-pharmaceutical consumer health and animal health businesses, Frazier insisted that the two units are complementary to its core pharmaceutical and vaccine focus and are not for sale. That said, if I was a Merck employee in either of those divisions, I would be updating my resume just about now.

Until next time...

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

 

Pharma and Biotech Job Watch

Merck & Co, which yesterday completed its $430 million acquisition of Inspire Pharmaceuticals, announced that it intends to shut down Inspire’s headquarters in Raleigh, NC. According to a Merck spokesperson closure of the former Inspire site will occur before the end of the year and their will be job losses. However, it is not clear at present how many jobs will be lost but both executive and workforce positions are on the chopping block. 

Inspire was founded at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in1995 and went public in 2000. The company employed 240 workers at the beginning of 2011 but it cut 27 percent of its workforce in February after an experimental treatment for cystic fibrosis failed in clinical trials. Merck’s acquisition of Inspire gives the company AzaSite an approved treatment for pink eye and a treatment for dry that is approved in Japan (the drug failed to gain US regulatory approval).

In other industry news, Connecticut-based Alexion announced that it will add 20,000 sq feet of laboratory and office space to its Smithfield, RI location. The company currently employs 125 workers and plans to expand its workforce by 35 percent in the next year or so. Alexion has one approved prescription medication called Soliris, the only approved therapy for persons with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglboinuria (PNH) an orphan indication.

Until next time...

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

 

Medical Device Giant Medtronic Will Shed 2,000 Jobs

Medtronic one of the world’s largest medical devices manufacturer earlier this week announced that it will cut its workforce by 5 percent which translates into 1,500 to 2,000 fewer jobs. Most of the cuts will come from the company’s struggling external heart defibrillators unit (Physio-Controls) which it would like to sell. Revenues from pacemakers and defibrillators, Medtronic’s largest selling products, fell 2 percent in the last quarter. 

In a statement, the Minneapolis-based Medtronics will cut 4 percent to 5 percent of its employees with voluntary programs, retirements and layoffs. 

Until next time...

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

 

Decline in High School Student Participation at Science Fairs: The Obama Administration Responds!

The recent article published in the NY Times about the decline of high school student participation in science fairs resulted in many letters to the editor. Many of them were from concerned citizens and a few were from university researchers decrying the lack of government funding for research and the funding of sports over science programs. Another railed against the Bush’s Administration’s poorly crafted and ill-advised No Child Left Behind Act. However, there was one letter that surprised me. It was written by John P. Holdren, President Obama’s science and technology adviser (see below)

To the Editor:

Your article points to deep budget challenges that many school districts are facing and problems with the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind law.

But it does not mention much of the Obama administration’s extraordinary agenda for improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in this country: for example, the commitment to prepare 100,000 new math and science teachers over the next 10 years, the $4 billion Race to the Top program’s support for innovation in teaching these important subjects, and the administration’s blueprint for updating the Elementary and Secondary Education Act this year.

Recognizing that government alone cannot be the answer, moreover, the president has also called upon the business community, foundations, professional societies and others to do more. Already, the president’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign has attracted more than $700 million in nongovernmental financial and in-kind support for science and math programs.

And more than 100 chief executives have responded to the president’s “all hands on deck” call to action by launching “Change the Equation,” an unprecedented program to scale up effective models for improving STEM education.

John P. Holdren
Washington, Feb. 7, 2011

The writer is President Obama’s science and technology adviser.

What surprised me about the letter is that it took an article critical of the Obama Administration’s commitment to science education to provide the American public (at least part of it) with some insight into the government’s recognition of the problem and steps that it is taking to help to correct it. Perhaps the Obama administration needs to be a bit more proactive and publicly-vocal about its plans to improve American STEM education. This would go a long way to assuage some of the concerns about America's waning global competitiveness in science and technology.

Like Dr. Holdren, I believe that government alone cannot be the answer and American corporations must get actively involved by providing ideas on how to improve American science education and the financial support to implement them. While the CEO-endorsed program “Change the Equation” sounds great on paper, it is time for those CEOs to actually step up and do something about the problem. Many of these same CEOs have been complaining for decades about the lack of STEM preparedness of the American workforce. As somebody once said “Talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words!”

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Teaching!!!!

 

More Women Needed For Math, Science and Engineering Jobs

Most job pundits and career analysts believe that millions of jobs will become available in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by 2018. Yet, despite ongoing initiatives the next generation of American employees may be unprepared and not qualified to take advantage of these new opportunities. A recent report from the Information Industry Technology Council, indicate that US children are falling behind their international peers in all aspects of STEM education!

Further, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that although women currently make up more than 50 percent of the American workforce, they hold only 14 percent of all engineering positions and 25 per cent of mathematics positions. While it previously was believed that women were less academically-capable in STEM disciplines, new data clearly shows this not to be the case. The differences in achievement only become apparent when lower expectations and distorted perceptions of likely success affect motivation levels and confidence. In other words, there are no genetic differences between men and women that explain why there are disproportionately lower numbers of women in STEM jobs. 

With fewer men and increasing number of women graduating from college, it is incumbent upon STEM educators and employers to devise new strategies to encourage and help women purse careers in science, math and engineering. Like it or not, women will have a significant role to play in the future when it comes to American ingenuity and innovation. 

The “gold ole boys” days are thankfully drawing to a close and will continue to do so as we move further into the 21st century.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!! 

 

Sanofi Aventis to Reduce Sales and Marketing Workforce to Cut Costs

The expanding European financial crisis is forcing drug makers to continue to explore ways in which to cut costs. Faced with budget deficits amid a global economic crisis, European countries such as Germany, France and Greece have cut or plan to cut their health-care spending. Greece last month ordered drugmakers, including France’s largest drug maker Sanofi-Aventis, to cut prices by 3 percent to 27 percent to help rescue its economy. 

Not surprisingly, Sanofi Aventis responded by announcing new job cuts and more stringent cost control measures. Yesterday, Sanofi’s Chief Financial Officer announced at an analyst meeting in Los Angeles that “We are restructuring. We are changing our marketing model. We are merging sales forces, we are reducing sales forces, having a multiproduct sales force. We will continue to do that.” Most of the job cuts and cost saving measures will come at the expense of sales and marketing personnel. The size of pharmaceutical R&D and sales and marketing workforces have been devastated over the past three years with over 200,000 employees losing their jobs.

Sanofi-Aventis Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher, who joined the company in 2008, shut or sold plants and canceled the least promising research projects in a bid to trim 2 billion euros ($2.46 billion) in costs. These actions, coupled with the most recent restructuring efforts were enacted to ensure 2013 earnings are at least equal to 2008 profit. Like most other big pharma companies, Sanofi has been looking to emerging markets and consumer products for new income as competition from generic drugs hurts sales. The anti-clotting drug Plavix which is Sanofi’s largest selling drug generating over $4.0 billion annually will lose patent protection in 2011-2012. Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi’s marketing partner for Plavix in the US, also exceeded $4.0 billion in sales last year.

Sanofi also announced today that it acquired the assets of Montreal-based Canderm Pharma, Inc a consumer products company for $1.9 billion signaling its intention to aggressively enter the North American consumer healthcare products markets.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

 

Downsizing: Biotech Companies Are Catching Up to Big Pharma

For the past year or so, I have been focusing on the downsizing and layoffs taking place at big pharmaceutical companies. The unprecedented size and scope of these massive layoffs have overshadowed the downsizing and job loss taking place at small to mid-size public and private biopharmaceutical companies. In contrast with most fully-integrated vertical pharmaceutical companies that are flush with cash, most biotech companies—even the likes of Amgen, Genentech, Gilead and others—don’t have the cash reserves to maintain operations in a down economy or when a drug candidate fails in clinical development. This coupled with the lack of venture and private equity capital has been causing biopharmaceutical employees to lose sleep in recent months.

Over the past few days, two CA-based biopharmaceutical companies announced major layoffs. The first, San Jose-based Xenoport, announced that it plans on cutting its 222 person workforce by 50% over the next few months. According to company executives, the layoffs are necessary because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) failed to grant approval to its lead drug candidate Horizant, a treatment for restless leg syndrome. This will allow the company to annually save about $15.6 million and focus its development efforts on other products that are in Phase II clinical development. 

San Francisco-based Exelixis today announced that it would cut about 40% of its workforce or 270 employees to focus on development of its late stage drug candidates. The biotechnology company, which expects to reduce its 2011 cash expenditures by about $90 million, said it would focus on the development of its anti-cancer drugs XL184, XL147 and XL765. These layoffs are occurring less than a year after the company announced a potential $1.0 billion deal with Sanofi-Aventis in which Sanofi invested $140 million upfront to license two of its oncology drug candidates.

Things are also not going well for the numerous small to midsize biotechnology companies in the Seattle area. According to Xconomy, a company that tracks layoffs in and around Seattle, the region has shed 4,500 biopharmaceutical industry jobs since 2008.

Finally, BNET compiled a top biotech layoff list for 2009. The notables that made the list are shown below.

  1. Sepracor (530). The layoffs represented 20 percent of Sepracor’s workforce, and another 410 contract sales reps also got the axe. The restructuring apparently worked and Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma the company later in 2009.
  2. Allergan (460). This represented a five percent reduction in the company’s workforce.
  3. Genmab (300).  Arzerra (ofatumumab) the company’s leukemia drug won FDA approval a week before layoffs were announced (go figure). But Genmab wanted to cut manufacturing and late-stage clinical work to refocus on antibody discovery.
  4. Oscient Pharmaceuticals (280). Oscient cut about 100 jobs in February, 2009 to entice acquisition partners. When that didn’t work, the firm cut another 180 in June as it dumped the sales force for its two marketed products. Cornerstone Therapeutics later picked up Oscient’s antibiotic Factive during bankruptcy.
  5. Amylin Pharmaceuticals (200). After cutting 340 jobs at the end of 2008 amid declining diabetes drug sales and regulatory delays, Amylin eliminated 200 sales reps in mid-2009.

While these represent the largest layoffs that occurred in 2009, thousands of other biopharmaceutical employees also lost their jobs.  If the life sciences sector is the part of the economy that has been relatively unscathed during the economic downturn, imagine what life must be like for employees in other sectors that have been hard hit!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting ????

 

AstraZeneca Offers New Details About Its Global Layoff Plans

Ed Silverman, who runs the Pharmalot blog,reported today that AstraZeneca provided more details about its plan to layoff 8,000 employees or 12% of its workforce by 2014. 

According to the post, the company will R&D programs in thrombosis; acid reflux; ovarian and bladder cancers; systemic scleroderma; schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety; hepatitis C and vaccines (other than respiratory syncytial virus and influenza).

The company will shutter research facilities throughout the UK and Sweden and shed about 3,500 R&D jobs. About 550 jobs will be eliminated at AstraZeneca’s US headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware; adding to the massive numbers of unemployed pharmaceutical workers in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware region. The company is also looking for a buyer for its Arrow Therapeutics business.

AstraZeneca joins a growing number of big pharma companies that are jettisoning internal R& D programs in favor of licensing and merger and acquisition deals to sure up drug discovery pipelines. The lack of innovation in small molecule drug discovery and the loss in 2011 of patent protection for some of the industry’s largest blockbuster drug franchises is forcing big pharma companies to eliminate or outsource most of their R&D functions and capabilities to cut costs.  

I wish I could say that things will get better. But, the shift in the business model that has guided big pharma for close to 100 years is likely to be a permanent one. Now is the time to begin to consider alternative career paths!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (“Go West young man/man!”)

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Johnson & Johnson Freezes Salaries and Cuts Yearly Bonuses

Times are tough in the financially-struggling pharmaceutical industry and seemingly getting tougher.

First, Bristol-Myer Squibb (BMS) announced last week that it will freeze salaries but not cut yearly performance bonuses for its employees. One week later, Johnson & Johnson (J&J)—a company known not to be upstaged or outdone by a competitor—is planning on cutting the yearly performance-bonuses for 38% of its workforce and will freeze the salaries of certain other employees.

While BMS publicly announced its salary freeze, J&J plans were uncovered in an internal announcement and other company documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal. According to the Journal article, “The health-care giant told employees Jan. 25 that it is making the moves to standardize compensation across its various businesses and regions, thereby making it easier for its workers to move around within the company. In the U.S., the changes will bring bonus targets in line with market levels, one document said.”

Interestingly, J&J hasn't yet reported its CEO, William Weldon’s compensation for last year. In 2009, Mr. Weldon turned down a salary raise. His total compensation in 2008 fell 4.1% from the year before to $29.4 million, according to the most recent regulatory filing.

The salary freeze and bonus cuts help to explain why a good friend and lifelong J&J employee (25 years and counting) wasn’t too keen on the company during a visit earlier this week. During a conversation, in which I unknowingly lauded J&J’s treatment of its employees, my friend quipped “Looks can be deceiving; J&J is like every other big corporation. People really don’t matter—it’s all about P&L”

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

GlaxoSmithKline to Increase the Size of its Sales and Marketing Team in India

According to an article that appeared in the Indian publication The Hindu Business Line, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is set to increase the size of its Indian marketing and sales force to better support the sale of vaccines and other specialty products. A company executive said that GSK will add another 200 people to its 2,250 member sales and marketing team.

GSK is repositioning itself to be more competitive in developing and emerging markets like India, China, Brazil and elsewhere. The announcement to increase the size of its workforce in India comes only a couple of weeks after the company announced massive global layoffs that would affect at least 4,000 GSK employees.

Hat tip to Ed at Pharmalot!

Until next time...

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

 

Workplace Politics: Revisiting the Gender Gap

While ‘women in the workplace’ is no longer a new or novel concept, there are still differences in the way women and men are viewed and treated at work. Lauri Buckley at Job Profiles alerted me to an interesting article that they prepared entitled “The Gender Gap: 10 Surprising Stats on Women in the Workplace."

Listed below are some startling stats about women in the workplace. 

  1.  Women comprise 46% of the total U.S. labor force. With almost half of the workforce being women, female employees aren't exactly a rarity. For most women today, getting a job is an expected part of life. This is a big change from past decades. In 1900, fewer than 20% of women participated in the labor market while today the number is around 75% and growing.
  2. Women make only 77.5 cents for every dollar that men earn. This figure comes from data on the 2003 census. Despite this gap, many economists feel that the gap between pay for men and women is due to different personal choices men and women make about personal fulfillment, child rearing and hours at work. Whichever you choose to believe, the reality is that the gap is slowly but surely closing as women become increasingly educated and dual income families become the norm, but this isn't much consolation to those who feel discriminated against today.
  3. The more education a woman has, the greater the disparity in her wages. This certainly doesn't mean women should shy away from professional positions, but they should be aware that they may have to battle harder for equal pay. Women in professional specialty occupations were found to earn just 72.7% of what men in the same position earned, and women in upper level executive, administrative and managerial occupations earned even less at 72.3%. If you compare this against the average of 77.5%, the numbers speak for themselves, and this graphic from the New York Times makes it even easier to see.
  4. Women may work longer to receive the promotions that provide access to higher pay. One example provided by the National Center for Education Statistics shows that women often have to work three years longer in a teaching position to be promoted to a principal than their male counterparts. Some studies suggest that this is because women and men adapt different strategies when it comes to management and pursuing promotions, yet other studies connect it less to work and more to gender-based biases.
  5. Women business owners employ 35% more people than all the Fortune 500 companies combined. If you're like most people, you don't picture a woman when you think about a business owner. Yet there are about 9.1 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., a number that comprises nearly 40% of all businesses. The idea that women don't make good managers just doesn't hold up when you look at these kinds of numbers, with women managing a large number of employees and making healthy profits while doing so.
  6. Women account for 46% of the labor force, but 59% of workers making less than $8 an hour. What does it mean? It means that many women are taking on jobs that pay well under a living wage. With nearly 16% of U.S. households having women who are divorced, widowed or never married as the sole providers, this leaves many women at a distinct disadvantage and struggling to make ends meet as they dominate jobs in low paying fields.
  7. Only 53% of employers provide at least some replacement pay during periods of maternity leave. Despite the fact that the arrival of a child means extra bills and expenses, many employers don't provide women with any benefits if they to leave work temporarily to have a child. While there is no law requiring companies to offer paid maternity leave, considering it is an issue that primarily affects women, it's certainly a blow to their income potential and ability to care for their families and themselves.
  8. Four in ten businesses worldwide have no women in senior management. This shouldn't be a surprise given the way many countries feel about women in the workplace. Here in the United States, however, women still feel the stress of trying to break into upper management, with 93% of the 439 senior women executives surveyed by Korn/Ferry International in 1992 feeling that a glass ceiling for women still existed. Yet new studies report that women outnumber men as managers in fields like human resources, health administration and education--perhaps stemming from reports that many businesses have seen a direct financial impact from hiring women.
  9. Women earned less than men in 99% of all occupations. In virtually every field that women choose to enter, they can expect to earn less over their lifetime than their male counterparts. This means that over 47 years of full-time work, this gap amounts to an estimated loss in wages for women of $700,000 for high school graduates, $1.2 million for college grads, and $2 million for professional school grads--a staggering amount.
  10. Minority women fare the worst when it comes to equal pay. African-American women earn 64 cents to every dollar earned by white men and Hispanic women just 52 cents per dollar. Whether it's attitudes about race or gender that are at play, it's clear that something needs to be done to level the playing field.

While these interesting statistics may be new to a lot of men, women have long known about the biases and inequities that they face in the workplace. The facts presented in the article suggest that while women have come a long way in the past 40 years, there is still a lot of work that must be done to achieve parity between women and men in the workplace.

Hat tip to Job Profiles!

Until next time...

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

 

Johnson & Johnson Announces it Will Cut 8,200 Jobs

Johnson & Johnson announced today it would eliminate as many as 8,200 jobs, or 7% of its work force, to help the company cope with what it expects will be a slow economic recovery amid damped demand for drugs, medical devices and consumer products. J&J employs about 117, 000 workers globally. While the job cuts will be global, many losing their jobs will be outside of the US. 

J & J joins a growing list of pharmaceutical and life sciences companies that have announced new layoffs. Pfizer Inc., the world’s biggest drugmaker, plans to fire 19,000 workers following its acquisition of Wyeth and had already cut 10,000 positions since 2007. J&J began firing as many as 4,400 employees from its pharmaceutical and stent divisions in late 2007. Finally, Merck recently announced that it will be eliminating 16,000 workers after its merger with Schering Plough closes later this year.

J&J’s announcement is more bad news for New Jersey which is still reeling from the earlier loss of tens of thousands of pharmaceutical and life sciences jobs.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (forget New Jersey)

 

Roche Cutting More Jobs at its Genentech Division

According to a report yesterday, Roche is reducing headcount at San Francisco-based Genentech by merging the information technology departments of its pharmaceutical and diagnostics divisions. The company didn’t disclose how many people would be losing jobs as a result of the consolidation.

The company previously merged all of its human resources functions and roughly 20% of HR personnel lost their jobs—although most were able to find new jobs within Roche.

A Roche spokeswoman added that the company will continue unifying its communication processes in an attempt to further reduce the size of its workforce.

Expect more announcements from Roche in the coming months.

Until next time...

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

 

America's Competitive Edge in Science and Technology May be Waning

Over the past ten years or so, pundits have been warning that the US is losing its competitive edge and that it is no longer the world’s leading nation when it comes to innovation in science and technology. Measuring national competitiveness and innovation is very tricky business and until now, most of evidence to support these claims has been anecdotal. According to an article in today’s New York Times, a report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation suggests that the US ranked sixth among 40 countries and regions based on 16 indicators that measure innovation and competitiveness including venture capital investment, numbers of per capita researchers, research spending and educational achievement. 

While the results of Foundation study may be troubling (if you are a US citizen), another recent study conducted by the World Economic Forum found that America ranked first in innovation and global competition. However the forum’s report was based entirely on opinion survey data.  Like the forum report, a study conducted by the Rand Corporation last year, also found that “the US was not in any imminent danger of losing its competitive advantage in science and technology.” The use of the word “imminent” is perhaps the most telling aspect of the Rand Corporation’s conclusion about American competitiveness.

The US lost ground to much smaller countries like Sweden, Finland, Taiwan, Singapore and also to one of it's main competitors, China.  Unlike the US, all of these countries are pursuing government-sponsored initiatives designed to promote innovation and global competitiveness. Some of the elements of these initiatives include education, workforce development training, intellectual property protection and immigration. Surprisingly, results from the foundation report (adjusted for population and size of each economy) showed that the US ranked sixth in venture capital investment (Sweden was first); fifth in corporate research and development spending (Japan was number one) and fourth in the number of science and technology researchers (again Sweden was first). Over all, Singapore ranked first in innovation and competitiveness. As some of you may know, Singapore--for the past 10 years--has heavily invested in the life sciences and has managed to induce some of world’s leading bioscientists to immigrate.

One of the main recommendations of the report suggests that the federal government ought to follow the lead of the individual states, many of which developed state government-sponsored programs designed to attract investment, talent and improve the work force skills of  local would be employees. Further, the report specifically recommends that the federal government offers tax breaks and incentives to induce American companies to innovate at home rather than outsource R&D activities abroad. Some of these incentives could include tax research tax credits  and increased federal funding or corporate tax breaks for workforce development programs.

Finally, one of the most shocking statistics that I heard in President Obama’s speech to Congress last evening was that 50% of American students drop out of high school and over 50% of college students never complete their education. This begs the question: How can America expect to remain competitive when a majority of its population is less educated than the rest of the developed world? 

A past commitment to education is what propelled the US to become a world leader in innovation and competitiveness.  To regain its past status as an innovator, the US must overhaul and vastly improve is primary, secondary and post secondary education system. This is something that cannot wait—the future of American depends on it!

Until next time...

 

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting ( give teaching a shot)

 

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Merck to Eliminate 6,800 Jobs

 Merck announced today that as part of its ongoing restructuring plan to cut costs it will eliminate approximately 7,200 positions — 6,800 active employees and 400 vacancies — across all areas of the Company worldwide by the end of 2011.  This amounts to a 12 percent reduction in the company’s workforce. About 40 percent of the total reductions will occur in the United States.  To streamline management layers across the Company, Merck will reduce its total number of senior and mid-level executives by approximately 25 percent.  These positions are in addition to the 10,400 positions.  As of Sept. 30, Merck has approximately 56,700 employees. In addition to the layoffs, Merck will close three research facilities; one in Tsukuba, Japan; another in Pomezia, Italy and one in Seattle Washington by the end of 2009.

Merck expects the 2008 cutbacks to save the company $3.8 billion to $4.2 billion over the next five years. BioJobBlog reported several weeks ago that Merck had been quietly laying off employees since September. I suspect that today’s announcement comes as no surprise to employees who still work at the Company.

New Jersey once dubbed “America’s medicine chest” is starting to look less full!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

 

More Bad News for New Jersey: Roche Is Moving Its US Corporate Headquarters to California

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!!!!!

It's Official--Siemens is Laying of 16,750 Employees

Siemens, the German conglomerate that manufactures everything from locomotives to medical imaging devices, officially announced on Tuesday that it will be sacking 4% of it workforce or 16,750 employees. Although the company didn’t specify where all of the cut would be taking place—it is a global workforce reduction—a company spokesperson did indicate that 1,500 administrative jobs in its healthcare division would be eliminated and most of those jobs are in the US. Many of these cuts will likely take place in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania)—not welcome news for the already battered pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in the region.

While the cuts seem pretty substantial to most people (especially those Siemens employees who are losing their jobs) one company executive quipped “If you have 400,000 people on your payroll, cutting 17,000 is not that big a deal” — only if you aren’t one of the people who is losing a job.

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

More Downsizing on Both Sides of the Atlantic

Cambridge, MA-based Alkermes announced today that it is restructuring its operations following the termination by Eli Lilly and Company of its inhalable AIR Insulin program (Alkermes manufactured the inhaler delivery device). The company is reducing its workforce by approximately 150 employees and closing its AIR commercial manufacturing facility in Chelsea, MA. The company is taking these actions based on its current expectations of the financial impact of Lilly's termination of the AIR Insulin program.

The job cuts, effective this week, represent almost 18% of Alkermes’ total workforce. Employees affected by the restructuring will be eligible for a severance package that includes severance pay, continuation of benefits and outplacement services. The company expects cost savings from the restructuring in the range of $15 million to $20 million in fiscal 2009.

In other news from across the pond, the trade group, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), reported today that the UK pharmaceutical industry lost about 8.000 pharmaceutical jobs or about 10% of its workforce over the past three years. The ABPI asserts that there is a direct link between job cuts and changes to the British government’s pricing mechanisms for medicines. A spokesperson for the group said “Every time a new PPRS (Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme) comes into force there is a decline in the number of jobs”. Not surprisingly, the group is urging the government to not make any changes in the PPRS.

The UK pharmaceutical workforce has taken a number of big hits of late– Pfizer recently closed a manufacturing plant in Kent, while British drug makers AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline both announced substantial global job cuts many of which were located in Britain.

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

Lack of Trained Workers Threatens Massachusetts Biotechnology Industry

 A report on the state of the Massachusetts biotechnology industry suggests that global competition and shortages of trained workers might cause the state to loss its reputation as one of the world’s top life sciences cluster. The report points out that there simply aren’t enough trained workers to meet the growing demand from Massachusetts-based biotechnology companies-both because of a lack of adequate training programs and lack of interest from students.  

To help to remedy the situation, the study recommended that more job training programs ought to be created at two- and four-year state colleges and that Massachusetts should do more to encourage students to pursue careers in the life sciences. As usual, the report recommended that math and science education should be improved at the K-12 levels. Other suggestions included setting up a “summer bio camp” and launching an unpaid bioscience internship program.

Unfortunately, this report, which was prepared by Boston-based Mass Insight Corp and McKinsey & Co and was likely very expensive, is almost identical to other studies published over the past decade about ongoing workforce shortages in the life sciences industry. Like its predecessors, it contains the same tired and unimaginative recommendations that others have proposed to solve bioscience labor shortages. To learn more about some creative solutions to avert life sciences workforce shortages click here.

Despite what the experts and pundits would have you believe, the etiology of the workforce shortages in the life sciences industry is easy to decipher. Put simply, most universities and colleges don’t believe that job training or career development should be part of their academic initiatives or educational missions. Likewise, companies don’t feel that education or training should fall within their purview–according to industry executives, college and professional school graduates ought to be sufficiently prepared to enter the workforce after they complete their education.

Because neither academia nor industry wants to assume responsibility (financial or otherwise) to prepare or train students for careers in the life sciences, it should come as no surprise that there are workforce shortages in this industry. Although a number of federally-funded biotraining programs were initiated in the late 1990s, these programs were poorly promoted and are incapable of sustaining themselves without government support. Paradoxically, there are many more innovative, industry-focused biotechnology and bioscience training programs at the high school level as compared with the undergraduate and graduate levels. I suspect that many professors in undergraduate and graduate life sciences departments are more concerned about their own research programs than about the careers of their students. Go figure………!!!!!

There will continue to be workforce shortages in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical devices industry until either academia, industry or both claims ownership of bioscience training and career development.  I think that it time for academicians and industry professionals alike to put their heads together to solve this serious and ongoing problem. Failure to do so will result in the loss of America’s global dominance in the life sciences industry.

Until next time…

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