Pfizer said Tuesday it would reduce its U.S. sales force as it expects doctors and other healthcare providers to want fewer face-to-face interactions with sellers after the Covid-19 pandemic ends.
The move comes as the company is expected to announce more than $ 80 billion in sales in 2021 through heavy sales of the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with Germany’s BioNTech. That would be record sales for a pharmaceutical company, says Pfizer managing director Albert Bourla.
“We’re evolving into a more focused and innovative biopharmaceutical company and evolving the way we work with healthcare professionals in an increasingly digital world,” the company said in a statement.
“There will be some changes in our workforce to ensure we have the right expertise and resources to meet our evolving needs.”
The company did not disclose how many sales jobs were cut.
A source familiar with the matter said Pfizer is cutting a few hundred jobs. The company also plans to create new jobs in various areas for around half of those jobs, the source said.
Pfizer believes that in the future, doctors and other health professionals would like about half of their interactions with drug companies to be remotely, according to a document viewed by Reuters.
Pfizer’s sales are expected to grow even higher this year, and analysts estimate that they will exceed $ 100 billion.
About half of the company’s sales in 2022 are expected to come from the Covid-19 vaccine and its new oral Covid-19 treatment, Paxlovid.
The vaccine and paxlovid will be sold direct to governments in the short term.
