Sanofi looks set to announce cutbacks and re-orgs in France:
In addition to Toulouse, research jobs could go in Montpellier, southern France, in addition to Strasbourg, eastern France, as well as Chilly and Vitry-sur-Seine near Paris.
A number of vaccines unit and support jobs could also be slashed as part of the reshuffle.
Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher, a German Canadian who is Sanofi's first non-French top manager, is now focusing on France as part of his drive to boost productivity in research labs company-wide after wielding the axe in other countries.
"The reality is that our research in France hasn't really come up with a new medicine in 20 years and therefore we have to take a much more productive approach to how we do this," he told analysts in July. "It is a reorganization within France. It's not externalizing research to other countries."
The company is regrouping its research operations around the world into regional hubs - such as Boston, where its rare disease unit Genzyme and cancer research labs are based - while shuttering other laboratories.
That's not going to be popular, given France's history of lively labor relations. But everywhere else in the Sanofi world has heard the swish of the ax, so it can't come as that much of a surprise, can it?
Update: well, here's the announcement itself. And maybe this is my first impression, but compared to what's gone on in other Sanofi sites (like Bridgewater), this one comes across like a shower of dandelion fluff. No reduction in the number of sites, no actual layoffs - just 900 positions to phase out, mostly via attrition, over the next two years. The Toulouse site is the only loose end; that one is the subject of a "working group" to figure out what it's going to do, but I see no actual language about closing it.
1. insilicoconsulting on September 25, 2012 6:51 AM writes...
Doing this in Hollande's socialist France is going to be especially difficult.
That's why they brought in a non-frenchie to take the @!#*!(pun intended)
Permalink to Comment2. Am I Lloyd on September 25, 2012 8:22 AM writes...
I love how, when these CEOs hold forth on the bloodbaths, the words "downsize" and "layoffs" constantly appear with the words "enhance" and "boost" in the same sentence.
Permalink to Comment3. lionel on September 25, 2012 8:53 AM writes...
I don't know how Mr. Viehbacher can not take into account of the Sanofi history. Sanofi has grown by multi-merging and not closing the acquired site to keep different sites of research with different manner of doing research and thus more chance to have results.
Now, closing a maximum of research site (Bridgewater, Toulouse, ...), and regrouping research on a small number of site is all against the history and the view of how the company has been constructed.
But maybe, because Mr V. do not come from the company, he can not understand the weight of this history.
For the Toulouse site, it will go out from the Sanofi company and maybe it will continue to live for 5-10 years, but clearly I doubt of the long-life of the site...
(A french people that worked a small time in Toulouse).
Permalink to Comment4. imatter on September 25, 2012 10:22 AM writes...
I read the announcement. What closing?
Permalink to Comment5. Anon E. Mouse on September 25, 2012 1:47 PM writes...
According to an article on Fierce Biotech the French government said "Non" to Sanofi's original plans to cut 2300 jobs.
Permalink to Comment6. DCRogers on September 25, 2012 1:56 PM writes...
"The reality is that our research in France hasn't really come up with a new medicine in 20 years and therefore we have to take a much more productive approach to how we do this"
Since when has past research productivity had any role in decisions of site closures/downsizings? Pfizer/Ann Arbor comes to mind... I'm sure readers can add more such sites.
Permalink to Comment7. Jose on September 25, 2012 7:02 PM writes...
Wonder how much of this related to the spectacular crash-and-burn of the Sanofi's dengue vaccine reported last week in The Lancet?
Permalink to Comment8. JR on September 25, 2012 10:23 PM writes...
Yet another pathetic buckle in deference to the French government. 900 jobs over 3 yrs vs 2000 in NJ in 1 yr, and this is just the most recent iteration of biased site closures and downsizing. Sterling Winthrop in PA, RPR in PA, RPR in Dagenham in England are just 3 that pop to mind vs how many in France over 15yrs? 1 small site at romainville which was spun out without job losses during the Aventis merger. 13 research sites in France unaffected by merger after merger, with a total delivery to the world pharmacopeia of what? 35h work week, early retirement with full state support and benefits, >6 weeks of annual vacation. While the rest of the company has to make up for their lack of productivity and also take the fall every step along the way. vive la France.
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