Bristol-Myers layoffs may affect Indiana

This Associated Press story could spell trouble for some Hoosier workers:

Pharmaceuticals maker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. on Wednesday said it would lay off about 4,300 employees and close more than half of its manufacturing plants, part of a broad restructuring aimed at cost savings of $1.5 billion by 2010.

The company, whose best-selling product is the anticoagulant Plavix, also lowered its 2007 earnings guidance said it would spin off its medical imaging business. Bristol-Myers is also reviewing options for ConvaTec, a wound care products supplier, and its Evansville, Ind.-based Mead Johnson Nutritionals business.

"It is difficult to see our valued colleagues leave the company, but right-sizing our workforce across all areas is critical to achieving our productivity goals and enhancing the competitive position of the company," Chief Executive James Cornelius said in a statement.

The job cuts represent 10 percent of the staff and will largely be made in 2008 and 2009, the company said. The company also said it will close more than 50 percent of its manufacturing facilities by the end of 2010.