Merck posts flat earnings, to cut 4,400 jobs

[UpInArms]

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?siteid=mktw&sid=3093&guid=%7B5C640EA3%2D54DE%2D4A69%2DBA07%2DA76EF0C6A84B%7D

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) on Wednesday posted roughly flat third-quarter earnings, falling short of expectations, and said it would cut 4,400 jobs to reduce costs.

Merck also announced a new drug distribution plan and said that the new plan and the cost of the job cuts would cause its full-year earnings to fall short of Wall Street estimates.

<snip>

Quarterly sales rose just 6 percent to $5.76 billion in the quarter, shy of the average forecast of $5.87 billion among analysts polled by Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.

In a move to reduce costs, Merck said plans to cut about 3,200 positions, or about 5 percent of its full-time work force, as well as 1,200 contract or temporary employees. The move comes as economic analysts are examining whether employers will hire more workers as part of an economic recovery that has so far lacked significant job growth.

...more...