SANFORD, NC – After absorbing Wyeth just a few months ago, workers at Pfizer's Sanford facility had been waiting for the announcement that arrived today: 400 of them would be losing their jobs.
 
Pfizer said it plans to reduce its workforce by 6,000 employees globally, or 18 percent.
 
For the Sanford manufacturing plant, that means nearly half of the remaining 850 workers will be out of work sometime in the next five years – the company's timeline for instituting the layoffs.
 
Pfizer is already in the process of eliminating roughly 80 research positions in Sanford.
 
The company said it would assist laid-off employees with severance pay and help with job searches and career planning.