Sanofi (France) to Lay Off Hundreds in Sales and R&D

In the aftermath of the Genzyme acquisition, Sanofi told employees this morning about plans to shift various R&D operations between New Jersey and Massachusetts, as well as scaling back the sales force, primarily in the cardiovascular and oncology groups. All told, hundreds of jobs will be eliminated, although a spokesman was unable to specify the actual number until more details are sorted out. The cutbacks are hardly suprising, though. A few weeks ago, Sanofi disclosed plans to cut another $2.9 billion in costs in hopes of coping with upcoming expiration of patents on big-selling meds, notably the Plavix bloodthinner and Avapro high blood pressure medicine. R&D costs, for instance, are in the process of being cut by 12 percent from 2008 to about $1.1 billion, excluding Genzyme. And the overall headcount is being reduced from 13,000 to 10,000 (back story).

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