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Amgen to Layoff 12 to 14% of its Workforce
Amgen towers above the housing development of Rancho Conejo, which has grown significantly over the past decade.
In business just as in real estate what goes up -Â can come down.
Amgen Inc. who has been riding high in the biotechnology world for almost two decades announced a retrenchment today.
Biotech giant Amgen Inc. of Thousand Oaks said today that it would cut 2,200 to 2,600 jobs as part of a sweeping plan to save more than $1 billion next year, in an unprecedented retrenchment for the typically buoyant biotech industry.
The cuts, which amount to 12% to 14% of the company’s workforce, follow a string of recent clinical and regulatory setbacks for the company, particularly involving Aranesp, its top revenue-producing biotech drug in the United States last year, with sales of $4.1 billion.
Although specific cuts were not part of the initial announcement, the company said it would close certain production operations and reduce the size of other units to become more efficient.
More than half of Amgen’s employees work at the company’s Ventura County headquarters, and analysts said the cuts were likely to have a significant effect on the local economy, which has boomed in recent years with Amgen’s success.
Flap lives in Rancho Conejo north of the Amgen campus and remembers when Amgen had a few employees who did not expect the company to survive a year or so – they were my dental patients. My dental office opened in 1979 before Amgen arrived and remember their early and struggling years.
Then, Amgen hit it big with two break-through drugs, Eopogen and Neupogen.
I remember arranging a meeting between the, then, Chairman of Amgen, Gordon Binder and the City Manager of Thousand Oaks, Grant Brimhall. At the time I was the dentist of one of Amgen’s executive Vice President’s and was also on the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission.
Amgen, you understand, had dreams to build a campus facility out of the myriad leased properties in the Rancho Conejo. Although Flap was elected to the Ventura County Community College Board and left the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, I did have the opportunity to vote to approve the Rancho Conejo Specific Plan – involving the entire planning area north of the 101 Freeway.
So, this news will definitely devastate many families in the Thousand Oaks area. The real estate market here is already soft with home property values decreasing as much as 25% this past year. Home values will continue to decline precipitiously.
Business will also feel the pain.
There have always been rumors that Amgen will be purchased by a larger drug/pharmaceutical company.
Perhaps a merger or acquisition now will save these jobs.
Stay tuned……
Related:
Amgen stock ailing amid drug ruling
U.S. to cut anemia drug payments
Technorati Tags: Amgen, Biotechnology, Thousand Oaks
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Michael Ramirez on Karl Rove
So long Karl………But, the Democrats are NOT going to let you go quietly. After all, you beat them 3 out of 4.
Previous:
Micheal Ramirez on Barack OBOMBA
Michael Ramirez on the Iraq War Surge
Michael Ramirez on Harry Reid and His Iraq War Folly
Michael Ramirez on Bill Clinton, Pardons, Hypocrisy and Scooter Libby
Michael Ramirez on John Edwards and the UK Terrorist Bombings
Technorati Tags: Karl Rove, Michael Ramirez
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Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch: Health Care FLOP
The Wall Street Journal has a piece up today for subscribers describing the failure (FLOP) of the stalled California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s health care reform proposal.
Flap previously dismissed this misguided effort at universal socialized care with its concomitant tax increases here and here.
This proposal may not quite be dead but it is moribund. When the Governor has to travel to Fresno in the middle of the hot summer and fails to cajole and shame a recalcitrant California GOP State Senator to vote for his budget, it is doubtful that this controversial initiative will be able to obtain a 2/3 vote of the California Legislature.
In beating the drum for his plan, Mr. Schwarzenegger has often deplored what he calls the “hidden tax” of the current health-care system. Supposedly that describes the extent to which the costs of treating the uninsured shift to those who have insurance, thus making an argument for universal care.
Yet researchers at Stanford led by Dan Kessler ran the figures and demolished this claim. The total burden of this “cost shifting” in California amounted to only 2.8% of premiums in the 2000s. That’s not nothing, but in the Governor’s hands this modest hidden tax is an excuse for larger unhidden taxes. Perhaps the puncturing of this argument will prevent it from being deployed in the 2008 health-care debate, though don’t count on it.
If Arnold’s plan does fail, it will join “universal” health-care dreams in Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and other states that were also unveiled to hosannas but flopped once the fine print and costs were exposed. Alas, the failure of these state reforms probably won’t diminish political agitation for similar attempts that Democrats or Mr. Romney might propose in Washington. But it should.
There may be time (before the California Legislature adjourns at the end of September) for Schwarzenegger’s water infrastructure improvement proposals, including bonds for dams, Sacramento Delta improvement and a Peripheral Canal but Flap seriously doubts this health care plan is going anywhere except in the waste bin.
Previous:
Michael Ramirez on California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Radical Health Care Proposal
Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch: California Governor Schwarzenegger Proposes RADICAL Health Care Reforms
Technorati Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger
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Rudy Giuliani Watch: New Radio Ad Highlights Illegal Immigration
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, holds up a card as an example of what a federal identification card should be like, as he speaks on his plans to change immigration policy at a town hall meeting in Columbia, S.C., Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2007.
The Rudy Giuliani campaign has a new radio ad launching today in Iowa and New Hampshire: “Fence”
The Transcript:
Voice Over: “Here’s Rudy Giulianiâ€
Mayor Giuliani: “It frustrates me that if someone comes here illegally, in addition to everything else that’s involved in that, if they commit a crime, we don’t throw them out of the country. As the mayor of New York I wanted to see if I could get the Immigration Service to help me. Let’s see if you could get rid of the drug dealers who are coming out of jail. It makes no sense – after they have been in jail for selling drugs in the United States – we now have to keep them in the United States. They couldn’t do it because they had other people lined up to throw out. They had like a professor who over-stayed his visa. I had a drug dealer who had maybe killed people. A person who comes here illegally and commits a crime should be thrown out of the country. People that come in illegally we gotta stop. You stop illegal immigration by building a fence, a physical fence and then a technological fence. You then hire enough Border Patrol so they can respond in a timely way. And then, if anybody becomes a citizen, we should make certain that they can read English, write English and speak English, because this is an English speaking country.â€
Voice Over: “Paid for by Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee Incorporated. Visit joinrudy2008.com.â€
Mayor Giuliani: “I’m Rudy Giuliani and I approve this message.â€
**********Now the Giuliani campaign will put those campaign resources they saved by not participating in the Ames Straw Poll to work in an early GOP Primary state media campaign.
Let’s see if Rudy can improve his poll numbers in Iowa and New Hampshire in 4-6 weeks.
Previous:
Rudy Giuliani Watch: I’ll Stop the Invasion
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy and Huckabee To Be 2008 GOP Presidential Ticket?
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy 38% Thompson 18% Romney 13% McCain 12% in Latest CBS GOP Poll
Rudy Giuliani Watch: You Tube Debate Rescheduled?
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Iowa and New Hampshire Ready to Set Primary Dates
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Ames Straw Poll is Over
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Why Rudy Did Not Go To Ames #1
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Grassley – Mistake for Rudy to Skip Ames Straw Poll?
Rudy Giuliani Watch: John Edwards Attacks Rudy Over 9/11
Representative Charles Rangel Calls Rudy Giuliani a Bum
In California Giuliani Now Leads Thompson 2 to 1 and Romney 4 to 1
Technorati Tags: Rudy Giuliani
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Mitt Romney Watch: Stem Cell Research Stock Hounds Pro-Life Romney
Flap has discussed over and over Mitt Romney’s numerous Flip-Flops and his problems HONESTLY portraying his positions on the issues of the day.
Today the Boston Herald reveals that Pro-Life convert Mitt has and continues to own hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock in companies that use ABORTED EMBRYOS for stem cell research.
So, since Mitt is now PRO-LIFE will Romney sell this stock? And since he is PRO-LIFE why hasn’t he been aware of this ownership and dis-invested in these companies previously?
Another in a series of flips, inconsistencies, dishonesty and oddities for Mitt Romney:
Scientology book one of his favorites
None of Mitt’s five adult sons had served in the military
Hyopcritical on Illegal Alien Sanctuary Cities
Republican presidential hopeful former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during an appearance Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2007, in Oklahoma City.
Mitt Romney is WRONG FOR AMERICA
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Mitt Romney Watch: Romney HYPOCRITICAL on Illegal Immigration Sanctuary Cities
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy 38% Thompson 18% Romney 13% McCain 12% in Latest CBS GOP Poll
Mitt Romney Watch: Post Ames Mitt Takes Some Heat
Mitt Romney Watch: Faking It on Abortion
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Mitt Romney HYPOCRITICALLY Attacks Giuliani on Illegal Immigration
Mitt Romney Watch: Flipping on Immigration AGAIN
Mitt Romney Watch: Modulating on Immigration?
Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney
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Day By Day by Chris Muir August 14, 2007