Sepracor - Top 10 Layoffs of 2009

Company: Sepracor
Layoffs: 940

Scoop: Marlborough, MA-based Sepracor started out the year by announcing plans to reduce its workforce by about 20 percent--a process it had substantially completed by the end of the Q2. The company, which in October became an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan's Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma , said it would eliminate 530 company jobs--approximately 180 corporate positions and roughly 350 field-based positions-as well as 410 contract positions. In its Q3 filing with the SEC, Sepracor officials say the company now has roughly 1,325 sales positions.

When Sepracor announced the layoffs, analysts said it reflected a shift away from its sleep drug Lunesta, which is facing generic competition this year, and toward respiratory products, which are marketed to a smaller group of specialists. The company's CEO mentioned no cuts in its considerable research activities.