Merck to Cut 5,100 Jobs by End of Year

TRENTON, N.J. - Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., under siege over revenues lost since it recalled arthritis drug Vioxx, will have cut about 5,100 jobs by year's end, 700 more than first planned, and will slash costs by $2.4 billion over four years, chairman and CEO Raymond V. Gilmartin said Tuesday.

Merck's 2004 forecast was reduced by 50 cents to 55 cents after it pulled Vioxx from the market worldwide on Sept. 30 when its own study showed long-term use of the drug, which had annual sales of $2.5 billion, increased heart attack risk.

Since the Vioxx recall, he said, Merck has sped up changes.

Gilmartin said research and development spending is growing, and sales representatives and other employees who worked on Vioxx have been shifted to existing products and upcoming launches.