Pharma Still Seeing Job Cuts

The economy has seen brighter days. And though we are feeling some light shine through the dark clouds, we are far from out of the storm.

Eli Lilly has announced plans to cut 5500 positions by 2011, with hopes of reducing the company’s cost structure by $1 million. AstraZeneca also has job cuts in its future with plans to terminate 113 local positions at its Westborough, MA location, a local newspaper reported.

Recently other companies, including Teva Pharmaceuticals, Akela Pharma, Aptuit, and many others have also had to resort to job cuts in order to weather the lingering economic slump.

On the other hand, some of the CRO market’s biggest names have seen upward movement in employment trends. Outsourcing-pharma has reported that Icon, Parexel, and Covance have all experienced job increases, averaging a 60% increase in jobs across the three.  Not too shabby in today’s job market.

While both pharma and the CRO market are experiencing a varying of ups and downs in employment levels, as outsourcing becomes more predominant, it’s reasonable to wonder if a fluctuation in one will affect the other. Could this downward trend of job stability for pharma eventually have a seesaw affect on the CRO job market? Vote on our poll and tell us what you think.

Are you looking for a job or know someone who is? Go to careers.findpharma.com for up-to-date job postings and career resources.