The Ann Arbor News reports on the indirect job losses from the closing of the Pfizer facility in Ann Arbor:
The trickle-down effect could be another 2,000 to 4,000 jobs eliminated in the state, said Don Grimes, senior research specialist with the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at U-M. [...]
“There is a huge effect that permeates the economy when you have something like this,” Grimes said. “It’s a much greater impact than just the 2,100.” [...]
On any given day, Pfizer has as many as 1,000 temporary workers on site, according to Rick Chambers, Pfizer spokesman for Midwest operations.
The Detroit Free Press: Pfizer job losses are a blow to Ann Arbor
Local businesses around Pfizer's sprawling Plymouth Road campus expect business to slow.
At the Flim Flam Restaurant and Deli on Plymouth Road, owner Chris Klademenos said the closing of Pfizer across the street will hurt. "Sure it will," he said. "When I heard they were shutting down, I didn't want to believe it."
The restaurant gets 10 to 15 Pfizer customers a day at lunch besides a handful for breakfast and on weekends.
WJR has an interview with Rick Chambers, Pfizer PR: - download the MP3 here.
Pfizer's page about the Ann Arbor facility talks about the work that is done at the site:
R&D functions located at Ann Arbor are Discovery, Drug Metabolism, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Drug Safety Evaluation, and Development.
Therapeutic areas currently being researched at Ann Arbor are Antibacterials, Arthritis, Atherosclerosis, Cancer, Cardiovascular/Metabolic Diseases, Dermatological Conditions, and Psychotherapeutics.
In the short run, the Pfizer cuts are good for Ann Arbor drinking establishments. From the Michigan Daily:
At about 1 p.m. yesterday, nine Pfizer employees gathered at Ashley's Pub on State Street to discuss the news over lunch and a drink.
Pfizer instructed employees not to speak with reporters, and none of the group gathered at Ashley's would comment.
"We are going to have a whole stick-around-Ann-Arbor campaign for those employees, because we want them to stay," Granholm said.
The loss of Pfizer was particularly painful for Granholm because biomedical research was one of the fields that she was hoping to foster as a way to diversify the state's economy as the once-dominant automotive industry continues to struggle.
