Business & Tech

The Psychological Impact of Pfizer's Cuts: Shaken Confidence

"What People Have To Learn How To Do. . .Is Realize There Is Life After Pfizer."

Nearly everyone agrees that Pfizer’s decision to lay off 1,100 people will have an impact on the local economy.

But a less measurable consequence is shaken confidence, and anxiety that a major employer may not offer the stablility they have come to know.

“I had been caught in layoff once,” said Groton Town Mayor James Streeter. “And psychologically I said,  ‘Wait a minute. My evaluations are all high. Wait a minute.’  I’m unemployed.  And I was like, ‘This is depressing.’ And what people have to learn how to do, and what I hope they would do, is realize there is life after Pfizer. Yes, psychologically you’re going to be depressed. But dust yourself off.”

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Pfizer Pharmaceuticals announced Tuesday it would cut up to 1,100 jobs within the next two years – 25 percent of its local workforce - in an effort to save costs and streamline operations. 

The company is such a presence in town that thousands of people have a connection to it; they either work for Pfizer, used to work for it, have a relative who works for it or know someone who does.

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 “Pfizer has been a good neighbor for us, and I understand their business decision," said Streeter. "But these people, they’re our neighbors.”

Dwaine Rugh’s wife works at a local credit union that serves Pfizer employees.

“People come in and they’re being shipped out, they’re crying. It’s really sad,” he said. “Her heart goes out to people.”

“You just have to say prayers for those families that are going through it,” he said. “I’ve never understood the corporate mentality. I don’t get it.”

Pfizer has been a part of Groton for 60 years, and particularly during recent years, it has grown. Much of the company's structures north of the railroad tracks on Eastern Point Road were built within the last ten years. Town Manager Mark Oefinger said people have watched this expansion and made it their point of reference.

He said it's almost comparable to a student who earns straight As in school, then suddenly gets a B.

"Psychologically, (you perceive) it has more of an impact than it really has," he said. "Everything is relative."

In some ways, Streeter said the phasing out of jobs may make it harder for people to cope.

“The longer it drags on, and I hate to say this, but they’ve indicated this is going to happen over a two-year period .  . . So you have one group that gets notified, and then you have people saying, ‘Am I next?’”

Rugh, who has lived in town all his life, said his father worked for Pfizer decades ago, from 1959 until 1970. The family lived in a house on what later became Pfizer property, he said.

“You take 1,000 jobs out of the community and it’s not just a job," he said. "It’s a family, and it does hurt. They’re not going out to eat, they’re not going to the movies, they’re not buying gas. It’s a trickle down effect. Economics 101.”

Gary Paul, owner of Paul’s TV in Groton, said he doesn’t believe there’s a tax incentive or local program that could sway a global company like Pfizer.

 “The big (decisions) that hurt, they’re not being made locally,” Paul said.

The layoffs in Groton-New London are part of a bigger plan by Pfizer that includes facility closures elsewhere. Bloomberg Business Week reported the company will shut its research facility in Sandwich, England, as well as shift resources from Groton to facilities in Cambridge, Mass.

Groton residents with family working at the company said the layoffs include scientists, biologists, and other highly-paid personnel.

Paul said the loss of Pfizer jobs will have an impact; he just doesn’t know how much. He’s been in business 30 years, and he’s seen businesses come and go. He’s watched the ups and downs of big corporations.

Paul sells televisions and satellite system, and he repairs them. There was a time when customers wanted what they wanted, and money was no object, he said. Now he travels up to 50 miles to collect the same business he used to find within 5 miles of his shop.

Given this, it’s not just losing jobs that's relevant; it’s the kind of jobs lost and what replaces them.

 “(Pfizer) is not the level wage earner I want to lose. That’s for sure,” he said.

Oefinger said the situation will play itself out, and may even change.

"It wouldn't suprise me if there are changes, suprises or other nuances that people don't know about," he said. "It is unsettling. It's a lot of jobs. It could have some impact on the economy over time.

"It certainly has an impact on the psyche of a community."


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