Pfizer to close 6 R&D sites, lay off 2,000

Early Monday morning, the buzz at the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers (ISPE) conference in San Diego, California, was that Pfizer Incorporated (NYSE:PFE) (New York, New York) was planning to sell its massive St. Louis/Chesterfield, Missouri, research site to Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) (St. Louis).

By day's end, the truth had proven to be more dramatic than the rumors: To achieve a 35% reduction in global square footage, the company is going to close six research and development sites across the United States and lay off an estimated 2,000 people.