Friday, July 22, 2005

Pfizer to cut jobs in Michigan

Drugmaker says downsizing may impact an undisclosed number of its 8,500 employees.

By Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News

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Pfizer Inc. on Thursday announced a sweeping reorganization of its operations in Michigan, a move that is likely to cost the state hundreds of high-tech jobs.

The world's biggest drugmaker, which is in the midst of a $4 billion global restructuring, said the number of lost jobs is not yet known due to the complexity of the changes.

The reductions will come from retirements, relocations, layoffs and attrition, said David Canter, head of Pfizer in Michigan.

Pfizer has more than 8,500 employees in Michigan, including about 5,000 in the Kalamazoo area and 2,500 in the Ann Arbor area.

Thursday's news is a blow for the state as it works to develop its biotechnology industry in an effort to replace hundreds of thousands of lost manufacturing jobs.

"When the dust is settled, Michigan will still be home to more colleagues in Pfizer that in any other state or country," Canter said. He expects to lay out details of the restructuring within the next year.

Pfizer's plans for Michigan include moving much of its late-stage drug development from Ann Arbor to the East Coast, ceasing some research in Kalamazoo and Portage and moving some to Ann Arbor. The company has said it will divest a Holland plant that employs 300.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm was in Kalamazoo on Thursday encouraging west Michigan leaders to foster new high-tech business in the region and to promote her $2 billion economic development plan.

"This announcement is a clarion call as to why investment is needed in this area," Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said. "We need to diversify our economy."