Several Hundred Sanofi Reps Get the Ax

(MoneyWatch)  BNET readers were informed on Nov. 24 that there would be mass layoffs at Sanofi-Aventis on Dec. 1. Lo and behold -- it happened. The company says less than 10 percent of its sales force has been let go. The company employs 6,500 reps, so that's 650 or fewer. (BNET predicted nearer 1,500 -- oops!)

Here's a (very) rough list of which offices and territories lost people. And here's a thread where reps are trying to figure out whether urban or rural territories got hit worse. The official explanation:

Spokesman Marc Greene told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday the number of layoffs amounted to the single-digits on a percentage basis, but he declined to be more specific.

"As part of this realignment, we've identified areas where we've needed to increase sales support and others where reductions were necessary," Greene said. "We're currently in the process of ensuring placement for as many people as possible where reductions were necessary."

(Side note: When BNET called Greene on Nov. 24, he said he had not heard layoffs were happening.)

The layoffs are an Xmas gift from new CEO Chris Veihbacher, who took the helm as the new CEO on the same day. Sanofi joins GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Merck, Schering-Plough and Wyeth in trimming U.S. staff. Those drugmakers are cutting more than 6,000 sales jobs this year.

On the factory side, GlaxoSmithKline layed off 200 in the U.K.

Image by Flickr user timsamoff, CC