Pfizer's Philly Pfallout

What has been expected since Pfizer Inc. bought rival Wyeth in October is becoming reality: local layoffs.

Pfizer gave formal notice yesterday that it planned to cut 680 jobs from a combined workforce of 4,500 at its Collegeville and Great Valley campuses, where Wyeth had major operations.

Spokeswoman Gwen Fisher said 450 of the layoffs would come from Collegeville and 230 from Great Valley. They will take effect March 12.

The announcement was met with a swift expression of "disappointment" from State Sen. Andy Dinniman, who, along with other area legislators, had been pushing Pfizer to limit any post-merger job eliminations.

"We did not expect that the layoffs would be as great as they turned out to be," Dinniman said in an interview.

Some employees were informed of their pending job terminations yesterday and Thursday in "face-to-face" meetings with managers, Fisher said. Official letters will be mailed Monday to all affected employees, she said.

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