Reuters has discovered that Elan has quietly executed a corporate restructuring plan, dismissing 130 workers and aiming the axe primarily at its R&D ops in San Francisco. About half of its pink slips went out to scientists as the company terminated about 10 percent of its staff.
Curiously, the company never announced the move, leaving it to a corporate insider who tipped off the wire service. Reuters' source says that Elan's board was notified of the move after a group of company executives took a private jet from San Francisco to New York.
The Elan story revives some lingering bitterness among investors who have criticized management for its preference for private jets over the commercial airlines. Elan swore off private jets back in 2009, at least for awhile, but now won't tell Reuters what kind of arrangements it makes for executives.
Elan is primarily known for its role marketing the MS drug Tysabri with Biogen Idec.
- read the story from Reuters