Tough Pill to Swallow at Bayer, Abbott
Germany’s Bayer AG said Friday it’s slashing 6,100 jobs, including about 1,000 jobs in the United States, as it integrates Schering AG, which it acquired last year.
Bayer said the cuts represent about 5.5% of its global workforce. Other cuts include 3,150 jobs in Europe, 1,500 in Germany, 1,200 in Canada and Latin America, and 750 in Asia.
Bayer says it will cut 2,850 administrative jobs, 1,400 research and development positions, and 1,850 production jobs.
Also, Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories said it will slash several hundred sales positions – specifically the primary-care sales force — as part of the company’s ongoing integration of Kos Pharmaceuticals.
Abbott paid $3.7 billion in November to acquire the New Jersey-based Kos, which develops cholesterol-treatment drugs.
Airbus to Eliminate 10,000 Jobs
Airbus said it will cut 10,000 jobs over four years as part of a restructuring plan, including 4,300 jobs in France, 3,700 in Germany, 1,600 in Britain, and 400 in Spain.
Problems plaguing the European aircraft maker include costly delays to its A380 superjumbo and the effects of a weaker U.S. dollar, the currency in which its planes are priced.
It’s planning on selling the Meaulte plant in France,Nordenham in Germany, and Filton in Britain. The company said it might sell or close three other sites: Saint-Nazaire-Ville in France, and Varel and Laupheim in Germany.
230 Doctors, Nurses Get Layoff Notice in Chicago
Cook County has started laying off physicians and non-union nurse managers — approximately 230 positions — at Stroger Hospital and other Cook County health facilities.
The layoffs, effective March 19, include the departments of internal medicine, family medicine, gynecology, and pathology, according to Chicago’s Newsradio 780.
The cuts are part of a widespread county budget overhaul.
Photocircuits Closes Firm, Lays Off 740 on Long Island
Long Island, New York-based Photocircuits, a 56-year-old circuit-board maker, confirmed it will cease operations due to competitive pressures, primarily from overseas manufacturers.
“Foreign competition created a situation just too dire to continue,” the board of directors said in a statement released on Wednesday. Employees will continue to work for approximately six weeks, though none will receive severance.
“This is a big employer, and this means a lot, not just for Glen Cove but the entire North Shore and Nassau County,” Glen Cove Mayor Ralph Suozzi told Newsday.
Bristol Compressors Lays Off 240 Workers in Virginia
Bristol, Virginia-based Bristol Compressors said it plans to lay off about 240 employees, mostly production employees, through next month.
The layoffs are due to “higher-than-anticipated” compressor product inventories, according to a company news release.