Italy May Lose Thousands of Drug-Firm Jobs; Merck & Co., Inc., Eli Lilly and Company Amongst the Companies Mentioned

Drug companies in Italy may eliminate thousands of jobs due to government spending cuts, including those introduced this month by Prime Minister Mario Monti, according to a trade group and labor unions. “The consequences for companies are clear: disinvestment, delocalization and a worsening of crises and restructurings,” said Antonio Messina, a delegate of Farmindustria, and Alberto Morselli, general secretary of the FILCTEM-CGIL union, in an open letter to Monti today. “Further crises will inevitably come, with employment consequences in the near future for thousands of workers.”