Eli Lily is on a cost-reduction mission in 2010 which calls for the elimination of 5,500 jobs in 2010. IT is the latest group to be offered severance packages.
As part of a large downsizing effort of its labor force in 2010,
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly is cutting 340 information technology
jobs, according to an internal announcement obtained by The
Indianapolis Star.
Eli Lilly--which manufactures and markets
drugs that fight cancer, diabetes, fibromyalgia and erectile
dysfunction, among others--announced last year it was planning to cut
costs of $1 billion in 2010, and the elimination of 5,500 workers is
part of that cost reduction effort.
Eli Lilly has already seen about 140 layoffs, retirements and
resignations in IT in 2010, according to the The Indianapolis Star.
John Russell, a reporter for IndyStar.com, wrote the following on the
latest round of layoffs:
"But it means 200 more information technology workers will lose their
jobs this year. The company said 115 of those cuts will take place this
month. Workers who are affected--or -reallocated,' in Lilly
parlance--are given several months to look for another position within
the company. But openings for reallocated workers typically are
extremely limited. Lilly currently has about 1,250 employees in its IT
organization nationally."
Eli Lilly reported $5.486 billion revenue growth in the first quarter
of 2010--a 9 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009. The
company expects to see large costs associated with health care reform
legislation that passed Congress and signed by the president earlier
this year.
"Lilly delivered strong operational performance in the first quarter,
even as we experienced continued weakness in the U.S. dollar versus
prior periods and began to account for the impact from recently enacted
U.S. health care reform," said CEO John C. Lechleiter in an April 19
quarterly earnings statement "Our volume-driven revenue growth remains
solid and we are making the investments necessary to accelerate the
flow of potential new medicines through our pipeline."
Eli Lilly announced on July 2 that it entered a definitive merger
agreement to acquire Cambridge, Mass., biotechnology firm Alnara
Pharmaceuticals, which has been developing a drug to help combat
pancreatic deficiencies and those affected by cystic fibrosis.
Layoffs at Eli Lilly have not been isolated to IT; scientists,
marketers, public relations representatives, sales professionals and
others have all been let go from the company this year. Eli Lilly has
roughly 40,000 employees globally and claims to be the 10th largest
pharmaceutical company in the world.
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