2010 Pharma job cuts cross the 50K mark

With 4,905 job cuts announced in November, the pharmaceutical industry surpassed 50,000 layoffs through the end of November, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas. That's about 11,000 less than the same time last year, but up significantly from October, when just 1,929 positions were eliminated. The pharmaceutical industry remains the second-highest area of job cuts behind government; that sector has cut almost three times as many positions.

Pharma Layoffs by Month, 2010

Month Layoffs
January 8,170
February 17,687
March 308
April 1,049
May 6,943
June 830
July 2,023
August 255
September 6,069
October 1,929
November 4,905
TOTAL

50,168

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas

Overall, the pace of downsizing surged to its highest level in eight months, as employers announced plans to reduce payrolls by 48,711 jobs in November. CEO John Challenger noted that the higher layoff trend is likely to continue into December as many companies announce cutbacks at the end of the year.

Top Five Industries, Year to Date

Industry 2010 2009
Government/Non-Profit   138,979

165,229

Pharmaceutical 50,168

61,109

Retail 33,814

97,978

Healthcare/Products 26,612

45,978 

Telecommunications 24,504

69,736 

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas

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