Shakers: Merck chief is mum on reports of job cuts ws concerning VIOXX
BOSTON Merck chief is mum on reports of job cuts
The chief executive of Merck, Richard Clark, said Sunday that a statement would come soon on a restructuring plan he has worked on since taking the job in May, but he would not comment on a report that it would include thousands of job cuts.
Clark declined to comment on a report Saturday in The Wall Street Journal that Merck would cut jobs, close plants and trim research costs. He said he was "very unhappy" with the story and would not discuss it as "a matter of principle."
"The problem with an article like that is that we haven't had time to talk to employees," Clark said. "We're very unhappy. We want to tell our employees first."
The drug maker faces billions of dollars in liability from 6,400 lawsuits filed against it over its recalled Vioxx painkiller. The company, based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, is also preparing for declining sales of its Zocor cholesterol drug, which will lose patent protection next year, and Fosamax osteoporosis treatment, which has a patent that expires in 2008.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Merck board members were advised on details of the restructuring on Tuesday. Analysts had expected a restructuring announcement to come in December.
A company spokeswoman said Sunday that Merck was "engaged in a worldwide, large-scale review," and that it was "carefully considering a variety of options." She declined to comment further.
Merck's shares have declined 11 percent since May 5, when Clark replaced Raymond Gilmartin, who had led the company for 11 years
Jacobs will vacate Adecco's top jobs
ZURICH: The billionaire Klaus Jacobs plans to find a new chairman and chief executive for Adecco, the world's largest provider of temporary workers, after taking over the running of the company last week.
Jacobs will yield the chairmanship at the annual shareholders' meeting in 2007, Adecco's spokesman, Axel Schafmeister, said by telephone Sunday. And the company will have a new CEO when the "right person" is identified, he said.
Adecco is thinking about listing its shares in the United States. It is looking at the "advantages and disadvantages" and has not yet reached a decision, Jacobs has said.
Adecco, based in Glattbrugg, Switzerland, said last week that Jacobs had tightened his grip on the company, buying a $1 billion stake from the co-founder, Philippe Foriel-Destezet, and removing the chief executive, Jérôme Caille.
Jacobs will increase his holding to 29 percent from 16 percent as well as take the dual role of chief executive and chairman. Jacobs was co-chairman of the board from August 1996 to April 2002. He rejoined the board as co-chairman in 2004, Schafmeister said.
Born in the German city of Bremen, though now a Swiss citizen, Jacobs made his fortune from chocolate. In 1982, he merged his company with Interfood, gaining the Toblerone brand. In 1998 he led the initial public offering of Barry Callebaut, now the world's largest supplier of bulk chocolate.
Wipro chief considers increasing dividend
NEW DELHI: Azim Premji, chief executive of Wipro, said Sunday that the Indian software services company was considering quadrupling its dividend payouts by using some of its $1 billion in cash.
Premji said his company, based in Bangalore, India, also would invite shareholders to offer stock for conversion into American depositary receipts, and that it would set up a software center in Romania.
"The dividend payouts will be more generous than in the past two years and will be broadly in line with what we told investors in the last quarter," said Premji, who owns 81 percent of the company.
Wipro and its rivals, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies, are getting bigger orders from U.S. and European companies as Indian software makers expand services to include computer network management and software testing. Global software orders to outsourcing centers like India will rise 30 percent annually over the next three years, according to a report by Bernstein Research and Everest Research Institute.
Wipro will pay shareholders 10 percent to 15 percent of its free cash flow in the form of dividends, up from 3 percent to 4 percent previously, Premji said.
The chief executive of Merck, Richard Clark, said Sunday that a statement would come soon on a restructuring plan he has worked on since taking the job in May, but he would not comment on a report that it would include thousands of job cuts.
Clark declined to comment on a report Saturday in The Wall Street Journal that Merck would cut jobs, close plants and trim research costs. He said he was "very unhappy" with the story and would not discuss it as "a matter of principle."
"The problem with an article like that is that we haven't had time to talk to employees," Clark said. "We're very unhappy. We want to tell our employees first."
The drug maker faces billions of dollars in liability from 6,400 lawsuits filed against it over its recalled Vioxx painkiller. The company, based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, is also preparing for declining sales of its Zocor cholesterol drug, which will lose patent protection next year, and Fosamax osteoporosis treatment, which has a patent that expires in 2008.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Merck board members were advised on details of the restructuring on Tuesday. Analysts had expected a restructuring announcement to come in December.
A company spokeswoman said Sunday that Merck was "engaged in a worldwide, large-scale review," and that it was "carefully considering a variety of options." She declined to comment further.
Merck's shares have declined 11 percent since May 5, when Clark replaced Raymond Gilmartin, who had led the company for 11 years
Jacobs will vacate Adecco's top jobs
ZURICH: The billionaire Klaus Jacobs plans to find a new chairman and chief executive for Adecco, the world's largest provider of temporary workers, after taking over the running of the company last week.
Jacobs will yield the chairmanship at the annual shareholders' meeting in 2007, Adecco's spokesman, Axel Schafmeister, said by telephone Sunday. And the company will have a new CEO when the "right person" is identified, he said.
Adecco is thinking about listing its shares in the United States. It is looking at the "advantages and disadvantages" and has not yet reached a decision, Jacobs has said.
Adecco, based in Glattbrugg, Switzerland, said last week that Jacobs had tightened his grip on the company, buying a $1 billion stake from the co-founder, Philippe Foriel-Destezet, and removing the chief executive, Jérôme Caille.
Jacobs will increase his holding to 29 percent from 16 percent as well as take the dual role of chief executive and chairman. Jacobs was co-chairman of the board from August 1996 to April 2002. He rejoined the board as co-chairman in 2004, Schafmeister said.
Born in the German city of Bremen, though now a Swiss citizen, Jacobs made his fortune from chocolate. In 1982, he merged his company with Interfood, gaining the Toblerone brand. In 1998 he led the initial public offering of Barry Callebaut, now the world's largest supplier of bulk chocolate.
Wipro chief considers increasing dividend
NEW DELHI: Azim Premji, chief executive of Wipro, said Sunday that the Indian software services company was considering quadrupling its dividend payouts by using some of its $1 billion in cash.
Premji said his company, based in Bangalore, India, also would invite shareholders to offer stock for conversion into American depositary receipts, and that it would set up a software center in Romania.
"The dividend payouts will be more generous than in the past two years and will be broadly in line with what we told investors in the last quarter," said Premji, who owns 81 percent of the company.
Wipro and its rivals, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies, are getting bigger orders from U.S. and European companies as Indian software makers expand services to include computer network management and software testing. Global software orders to outsourcing centers like India will rise 30 percent annually over the next three years, according to a report by Bernstein Research and Everest Research Institute.
Wipro will pay shareholders 10 percent to 15 percent of its free cash flow in the form of dividends, up from 3 percent to 4 percent previously, Premji said.
posted by Chris Placitella at 6:44 AM
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