J&J Cuts Jobs Amid Safety Concerns for Stents and Anemia Drugs

Article in the Wall Street Journal -- J&J to Reduce Staff by 3% to 4%: Cuts Come Amid Slowdown In Stents and Expectation Of a Decline in Drug Sales, by Avery Johnson and Peter Loftus.  Here's an excerpt:

Johnson & Johnson is cutting costs and consolidating operations as the company braces for a downturn in drug sales and endures a sluggish market for drug-coated stents.

The company, based in New Brunswick, N.J., said it will reduce its global work force by 3% to 4%, or as many as 4,820 jobs. J&J pledged to consolidate some operations in its pharmaceutical group and combine medical-device businesses that make stents, the metal scaffolds that prop open arteries in the heart, legs and other parts of the body.

As of 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, J&J shares were at $60.50, up 43 cents.

The diversified health-products maker is in so many different businesses, from Band-Aids to biotech, that downturns in one area often are offset by gains in another. But J&J is now battling problems on an unusual number of fronts. The company faces patent expirations and safety concerns for some of its biggest sellers, ranging from anemia drugs to stents. Just two weeks ago, J&J tempered its 2007 sales outlook.

BGS