Pfizer Layoffs - The Ripple Effect
By Dave Hinz - Publisher
1/28/2007

The recently announced layoffs of more than 10,000 employees nationwide, and 2400 jobs in Michigan, threaten to widen the unemployment woes experienced by that state. While Pfizer has stated that as many as 70 percent of those Michigan jobs will be transferred to facilities in Connecticut, the effects on the economy in Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo will be enormous.

Analysts suggest that the 2100 jobs lost in Ann Arbor will create a ripple effect, causing up to 10,000 jobs lost in the immediate area. Businesses along that Plymouth Road corridor will be forced to lay off workers, and some may close. Two large strip malls across from the massive 2 million-square-foot Pfizer facility are expected to be hardest hit.

The University of Michigan North Campus complex, which has maintained a symbiotic relationship with Pfizer, along with the University Medical School Research programs at the University Hospital. The UM Hospital is a research hospital and teaching facility, with a close relationship to the pharmaceutical giant.