Last week, the drugmaker announced Bob Essner will retire as chairman on June 27, six months earlier than planned. You may recall late last year that Wyeth disclosed he would remain chairman through December 31 - and as an employee who would receive the same $1.73 million salary he was paid in 2007.

Since he’s retiring halfway through the year, he won’t receive the entire $1.73 million, though. Instead, a Wyeth spokesman tells us that Essner, 60, will receive a prorated salary. Although Bob will apparently still be entitled to a bonus based on his 2008 salary that is “consistent with (his) position.” So Bob will have earned at least $860,000 before any extra goodies for six months of unspecified transition work with Bernard Poussot, the new ceo who had already spent 22 years at Wyeth. How much transition work was needed?

Meanwhile, 141 people at Wyeth’s Pearl River, NY, facility weren’t so lucky - they were laid off on Friday. Most of the jobs were in manufacturing and R&D. The move was made as part of the drugmaker’s recently announced plan to trim up to 10 percent of its global workforce of 50,000. The cuts are coming as Wyeth, like many of its rivals, face increased generic competition and thinning product pipelines

Of course, if Wyeth really wanted to save money, Bob could have retired last December. Perhaps his prorated salary and unspecified bonus could have been used to keep a few other employees. After all, Bob did receive compensation last year worth some $20 million. Then again, transitions can be important.