So Merck has followed through on their recent job cuts by telling the chemists in New Jersey who’s staying and who’s going. From what I hear, up to fifty have been let go, including a number of longtime researchers. I doubt if much has been getting done there the last month or two anyway, after the announcement in July, what with people trying to find somewhere else to go or waiting to see if they’d be one of the ones laid off. A real productivity enhancer, this stuff is – and it’s not like the people left after one of these cuts are exactly refreshed and energized, either. Cost cutting has its costs, too, and not every spreadsheet lists them.