Jim Cornelius, the beleaguered drugmaker’s ceo, told Wall Street analysts and fund managers at the Bear Stearns Healthcare Conference, that the lease at 345 Park Avenue, isn’t going to be renewed. It’s all part of the ‘productivity transformation,’ which Cornelius acknowledges is a ‘fancy way of cost cutting.’ “It’s not part of the new pharmaceutical world, going forward,” he says.

The decision to slash expenses is no secret. The drugmaker disclosed plans when reporting its second-quarter earnings in July. And in a recent memo to employees, Cornelius tried to brace employees for the changes. Today, he adds, that the sales force will likely be left alone.

UPDATE: Several hundred people work at HQ now, mostly in finance and admin, a Bristol-Myers spokesman tells Pharmalot, and an unspecified number will move to New Jersey, where the R&D facility is based. Despite the certainty of Cornelius’ earlier remarks, however, the spokesman maintains the drugmaker will keep ’some space’ at the building, but it’s not clear how many people will stay - or if Cornelius, himself, will vacate. Judging by Cornelius’ remarks, though, it certainly seemed as if everyone would leave. Perhaps Jim wanted to give the impression that he’s willing to make the big, symbolic decisions while actually remaining close to the best restaurants? The replay will be available soon right here. Listen for yourself.