Tough Year for Indy
Talk about going from the penthouse to the outhouse but 2011 hasn’t exactly been a great year for the people of Indianapolis. First they lose their all-world quarterback and their beloved Colts, once considered a favorite to play in the Superbowl, which just so happens is in Indy, have yet to win a game this year. Next the people of Indy, many of whom who’s employment is directly connected to the diabetes market, have been forced to watch two former leaders in the space, Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Roche, basically implode.
Now word is coming out of Indy that the carnage and pain isn’t over yet as Diabetic Investor is hearing that more layoffs are on the way for both companies. Lilly is conducting a town hall meeting for their diabetes team on December 12th and the town is abuzz with speculation that Lilly will announce layoffs just in time for the holidays. Diabetic Investor has heard all kinds of numbers and given the dismal state of their diabetes franchise we can’t say this is shocking news.
Roche is also rumored to be adding to the holiday spirit with layoffs of their own, again hardly a surprise given that like Lilly, they have run their diabetes franchise into the ground and have no cohesive strategy that would give the company a fighting chance.
In many respects these two companies share more than just the same hometown as both have shown great talent for turning gold into sand. Both have management teams that are clueless about what’s going on in their respective markets and neither company knows what to do other than cut costs.
Just as Colts fans are beginning to accept the very real possibility that Peyton Manning will never play again and is done for good, it seems as the folks at Lilly and Roche are accepting that fact that there is really nothing they can do to turn things around so why not lower overhead and milk these franchises for whatever they have left or until someone comes along and is dumb enough to take these units off their hands.
By the looks of things Lilly and Roche will be delivering one huge lump of coal in the Indy Christmas stocking, Merry Christmas everyone and for employees at Lilly and Roche who do get the axe we hope your able to find employment with companies who actually have some vision and understand the markets they play in. For those who are spared the axe and must continue to suffer through poor management decisions take heart as the end come soon enough, so if you haven’t already now might be a great time to update your resume.
