As part of its ongoing reorg, Pfizer is apparently letting go a larger number of some experienced researchers than insiders may have been expecting, writes ‘In The Pipeline’ about the changes at the drugmaker’s Connecticut facility:

“I’ve heard from more than one source that Pfizer has laid off a large number of research staff this week in Groton. This seems to have taken people by surprise in many cases, since the expectation was just that everyone would find out where they were on the new organization charts. Well, in a way, they did.

As mentioned in a comment to this post, the company seems to want to get more people out in the lab. They’re aiming for a 4:1 ratio of associates to PhDs in chemistry, where the cuts seem to have been deeper. That would (to my knowledge) probably be the highest average ratio in the industry. Pfizer seems to be approaching this through both the numerator and the denominator: I’ve heard of associate-level chemists who had CVs in with the company getting recent messages about some planned hiring.”

“But for now, there are more researchers (chemistry and biology) out of work. The Northeast, I have to say, is getting rather saturated with drug industry job-seekers.”

At the same time, Pfizer is planning to tranfser researchers from Michigan, where facilites are being closed. A Pfizer spokeswoman wrote us that the changes announced internally in the research organization at Groton this week are simply “part of the company’s ongoing transformation.”

“I can’t say how many people were affected by the changes this week at Groton, as they are pretty complex and we expect that some of these folks will post for jobs within the Pfizer. To be clear, though, there will be fewer layers of management and these changes will give the ‘at the bench’ scientist clearer line of site to the therapeutic area leaders.”

Yes, and associates are also paid less than PhDs.

Hat tip to In the Pipeline[tags]Layoffs, Pfizer[/tags]