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March 10, 2009

35,000 Jobs to Be Lost After Pharmaceutical Mergers
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In business news, the pharmaceutical giant Merck has announced plans to
buy one of its chief rivals, Schering-Plough Corporation for $41
billion. The move comes just weeks after Pfizer said it would buy Wyeth.
The two mergers in the pharmaceutical industry are expected to result in
35,000 job losses. Questions have been raised over the link between the
mergers and the taxpayer bailouts of the banking industry. Dr. John
Abramson of Harvard Medical School said the mergers are only happening
now because the drug companies can get the money from the banks thanks
to the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. Abramson
said, “The TARP money is supposed to be loosening up credit and keeping
Americans employed. They shouldn’t be using bailout money to get rid of
people.”



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