Johnson & Johnson to Lay Off 900

Johnson & Johnson announced today that they’d be laying off 900 employees from their Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceutical business unit. Most of the positions on the chopping block are in sales, a representative said.

This is just part of an overall hiring freeze and position reduction plan for the company, though they’re mum on just how many employees will be laid off when it is all said and done. They currently employee about 119,000 people around the world. Ortho-McNeil-Janssen alone have several divisions.

Almost all pharmaceutical companies have laid off employees recently, and the economy is only partly to blame. Within the past few years, many drug patents have expired, meaning that generic and cheaper versions can now be made. Few new medications have been approved to take their places, as has been the case in the past. Doctor and nurse shortages have also meant that today’s physicians are busier than ever before, and are spending less time with sales reps.

Image via sxc.hu.