Pa. officials seek to keep Wyeth jobs in region

Seeking to save 5,000 jobs in the Philadelphia region, state officials are discussing possible incentives to keep Wyeth workers here after the company merges with Pfizer Inc. of New York.

Representatives from the drug companies have met with state officials, including some from Gov. Rendell's office, several times since the $68 billion deal was announced in late January.

"This is one thing that all of us, Republican or Democrat, are on the same page about - trying to make sure we keep the facilities," said State Sen. John Rafferty, a Republican whose district includes parts of Montgomery, Berks and Chester Counties and who has participated in the meetings.

Wyeth, based in Madison, N.J., employs about 5,000 people in Collegeville and Great Valley. It expects to close the merger with Pfizer by the end of this quarter. The two companies employ about 130,000 people, but the combination is expected to result in 20,000 job losses.

Analysts have said they expect cuts to fall harder on Wyeth, because Pfizer is the acquirer.

State officials say they want to do whatever they can to minimize losses here because pharmaceutical jobs are high-paying. Keeping them here also could burnish the region's image as a center for pharmaceutical research and development, participants said.

Representatives from Rendell's Action Team, a group involving several state departments that works to promote and keep jobs here, have not yet offered any specific financial incentives.

"We're closely monitoring the situation, and we're willing to do anything we can," Rendell spokesman Barry Ciccocioppo said.

Wyeth said it had no comment. Pfizer did not respond to a request for comment.

Democratic State Sen. Andrew Dinniman, whose district includes parts of Chester and Montgomery Counties, said Pennsylvania officials had pointed to the region's wealth of universities, life-sciences companies, and top researchers in their pitch to Pfizer and Wyeth.

Losing the Wyeth jobs, Dinniman said, would be a "tragedy." He said he was optimistic that many jobs would stay, even though Pfizer and Wyeth representatives said nothing about what they were likely to do.