Free Republic

NEW YORK—Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. on Tuesday announced that it would shut down eight manufacturing plants around the world, scale back production at several other sites, and slash 6,000 total jobs in its ongoing restructuring effort to cut down on payroll expense. The job cuts are related to its $68 billion acquisition of rival Wyeth last year and part of an announced 19,000 job cuts to be enacted by 2015. Such expense reductions were expected at Pfizer, based in New York, as the company braces itself to lose its patent on cholesterol drug Lipitor, which accounted for more than $11...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, Jan. 13, 2009 – Improved security has enabled an economics team to step up its efforts to help Iraq move forward. Army Capt. Eric Yarbrough pays workers for a trash collection project in Amarah, Iraq, July 16, 2008. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “The security improvement has made it possible for us to grow the economy and build the skills and capacity of both government officials and Iraqi businessmen,” Army Lt. Col. Barry Ross, deputy economics team leader for the 445th Civil Affairs Detachment, said. Ross explained that economics and governance go hand...