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Pfizer cuts almost 20% of Quebec workforce

Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant responsible for drugs such as Viagra and Zoloft, recently made it public that it will be cutting over 300 jobs – or 11% of its Canadian workforce.

Pfizer, the pharmeceutical giant responsible for laying off 300 workers

These large budget cuts come from the operations director and team, who claim the cuts are necessary to cushion the blow of expiring patents for drugs such as Lipitor. While it is perfectly clear that cuts are necessary, and that outsourcing may be a more viable option at this point in time for Pfizer, a company that is struggling to generate funds for more drug research and different drugs are demanded at a rapidly increasing rate, it should also be noted that this is a very large cut.
In class, making theoretical job cuts to maximize profits was simple enough that we were able to make that decision without a second thought, but it is an entirely different ball game when the livelihood of over 300 families is also at stake here. In the business world, we get so caught up with the shareholders and making them enough money, that it is easy to forget about all the stakeholders – as in the people who are affected by any action the company takes. Cutting 300 jobs in one area (mainly Montreal) will have a huge impact not only on the workers that get laid off, but also on the workers that will now have to pick up the slack of the 300 laid off workers. Large cuts can be huge liabilities, so one must ask, how bad is Pfizer doing that it must make such severe cuts?

Click here to read more on the job cuts.

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