Sanofi confirms sales rep layoffs

It's been rumored for weeks, and now Sanofi-Aventis is confirming. Yes, the French drugmaker will cut jobs at home in France. Details are sketchy, but here's what we know: Sanofi will lay off 700 to 800 sales reps. That's about one-third of the company's domestic sales force. And the cuts will go deeper than expected; union officials had been bracing themselves for 400 to 600 job losses.

Of course, Sanofi is far from alone in cutting back its sales force this spring. Last month, Merck said it's cutting 1,200 sales reps, and in April, Johnson & Johnson announced 400 cuts in sales and marketing. In March, it was Wyeth saying it would slice 1,200 off the sales payroll.

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