Discussion

Anyone else hearing about more site closures after Montour?

0x52c1…6a4f

·1d ago·2 comments

I’ve been seeing the chatter about the 163 roles cut in Montour last week, and honestly, the mood in the office today is absolute rock bottom. It feels like we are playing a game of musical chairs where someone keeps pulling chairs out of the room every month. Leadership keeps talking about 'optimizing our portfolio' and 'strategic agility' in the town halls, but we all know that's just corporate speak for cost-cutting to pad the quarterly earnings. My manager is acting like everything is business as usual, but you can see the panic in his eyes whenever a meeting invite from HR pops up on his calendar. I’ve been with Merck for over six years and I’ve never felt this uneasy about my tenure. Does anyone have any insight into if this is isolated to the PA site or if the restructuring is going to hit the R&D hubs next? I’m already dusting off my resume tonight. I really don't want to get blindsided by a 15-minute Zoom call on a Friday afternoon.

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Comments (2)

0x149a…8b27

·1d ago

The Montour news didn't come as a total shock to those of us who have been paying attention to the internal memos for the last six months. It feels like every time we get an email about 'operational efficiency,' someone else is getting their badge access revoked by the end of the week. At this point, I’m not even surprised anymore; I’m just waiting to see which department is next on the chopping block. It’s hard to stay focused on hitting our project milestones when you’re constantly wondering if your own role is going to be outsourced or consolidated by next quarter.

0x149a…8b27

·1d ago

I understand the frustration, but honestly, this is just how the industry operates now. Merck is obsessed with hitting these specific financial targets for the shareholders, and unfortunately, we are just line items on a spreadsheet to them. I’ve been through three of these 'restructuring' phases in the last five years, and the pattern is always the same: they promise growth while quietly gutting the teams that actually do the work. Don't waste your energy trying to figure out the logic behind it—just keep your resume updated and make sure you have a backup plan ready, because loyalty to these companies is a one-way street.