Wyeth to cut 1,200 sales positions

MADISON, N.J. Wyeth has informed about 1,200 U.S. sales representatives that their jobs will be cut as of Monday as part of new program to redesign the company in the wake of its struggling business, which has seen fewer new drugs and increased competition, according to published reports.

Wyeth spokesman Doug Petkus said the sales representatives, in both the company’s pharmaceutical and consumer health divisions, were notified Wednesday their jobs were being cut, the Associated Press reported.

In late January, Wyethin formed managers that about 10 percent of its 50,000 employees worldwide might lose their jobs by 2011 under a sweeping reorganization dubbed “Project Impact.” Last time the company made cutbacks, it reduced about 15 percent of its sales force, in 2005.

While the number this time around isn’t set in stone, the company’s “short–term goal is to achieve a reduction in force of 4 to 6 percent by the middle of the year,” according to Petkus.