The Dexter Leader
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Dexter employee talks about the past, future and losing his job
PUBLISHED: March 1, 2007
Dexter's Rob Leadley isDirector of Cardiovascular and Atherosclerosis Biology at the Pfizer Global Research and Development Ann Arbor Laboratories. Leadley, like the rest of his fellow employees at Pfizer, will be working somewhere else by the end of 2008. Also the junior varsity girls' basketball coach at Dexter High School, Leadley gives an insider's view on not only how people took the news that their facility was closing, but how the company and employees are adjusting and preparing for the major changes ahead.
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Were you surprised the day the announcement came down that the company was closing the Ann Arbor facility?
Absolutely! We knew that some changes were coming, but had no idea that the whole site would be closed.
How did the company handle it?
The announcements were handled with professionalism and great compassion. Our senior leaders at Pfizer in Ann Arbor have handled this extremely well. You have to remember, they lost their jobs, too. I sincerely have great respect for our leadership in AA.
What were the emotions in the building that day and the days following?
I have been through this at a previous company, so it was not as devastating as it was for some colleagues, but it still was extremely difficult – especially to those who had worked here for so long and had spouses who also worked at Pfizer. After the initial shock, people have been busy getting resumes together and trying to make contacts with internal and external employers. It definitely has been a crazy time, but colleagues have held up well.
Is there anything about the company or the work at Pfizer that people outside the company just don't understand? Is the public getting the full story on why the cuts are being made?
I think the public is hearing the full story, at least as much as we can understand. It's strictly a business decision to cut costs and increase organizational efficiency in a highly competitive and difficult business. Although it was a business decision, we thought we were doing great work and adding value to the company so it's very hard not to take the closure of the facility personally.
There are opportunities at other Pfizer locations. Is this something you are personally interested in?
For many colleagues, there will be opportunities at other sites and the company is stepping up to help make those transitions easier by offering relocation benefits. For me, I am considering multiple opportunities, one of which, I hope, will be staying with Pfizer.
Did you get the feeling many employees were willing to relocate?
Each person's situation is extremely unique, so it's difficult to assess how many colleagues will relocate. For some people, it will be a great decision to stay with Pfizer and relocate, for others who have ties to the area or spouses who are gainfully employed here, they will need to find something suitable in this area.
How is that process going to work? Are they going to pick employees and say you can go here or you can go there. Do employees have a say where and when they go?
Some colleagues will be hand-selected and others will apply for positions and locations that they are interested in and then be interviewed for those positions. Depending on a colleague's area of expertise, they will find a correct fit at only certain locations; their relocation site is largely linked to their specialty.
Because I work in cardiovascular research, which is now being performed in Groton, Conn., that is where I would likely be relocated.
Were there employees who said we are not moving...this is home?
The workforce at Pfizer Ann Arbor has many people who have worked at this facility since it was Parke-Davis; some even back to when Parke-Davis was in Detroit! So, yes, many people are not moving because this is home for them and they have family close to Ann Arbor. We grew up in Michigan and have lived in many other states, but most of our families have remained in Michigan.
So while we are rather new to Dexter (seven years), we still think of Michigan as home. Our son, Jay, is a sophomore at Hope College and our daughter, Diana, is a junior at Dexter High School. My wife Cathy is involved in our church at the Dexter United Methodist Church. So it would be difficult to move away at this point in our lives.
Has anyone already left for another job...are people interviewing all over town or are they finding there isn't much of an opportunity.
I don't know of anyone who has left for another job, yet. There have been many job fairs from local and out-of-state companies interested in hiring from this new pool of highly talented employees. Interestingly, many people are planning to reinvent themselves. Pfizer's closure has given many people an opportunity to pause and evaluate what they really want out of the next part of their life. I know of many people who are interested in teaching K-12, some will teach at colleges, others may start their own companies (coffee shops to restaurants to biotech's), others are planning to enter the bed-side of health care by going into nursing or medical school, and I know one person who will be a personal fitness trainer. What is Pfizer's loss may actually be a gain for these individuals, and for our communities.
What about assistance from the government?
The government has set aside funds through Ann Arbor Sparks (an organization that helps start new businesses in the area) to help people who have been displaced. This money will not be used for salaries, but will be used to help colleagues find jobs and begin new companies. I'm sure that quite a few colleagues will try to start up new companies and one way of doing that is to apply for government startup funding. However, not all applications are funded and the approval process can take some time. Other than that, it seems like the state government has enough financial troubles right now, so I'm not sure if they can afford to offer much additional help.
Is there any enthusiasm for the plan to transform the plant into a similar kind of business?
Apparently, one of the teams that was set up initially to evaluate the future of the sight receives numerous proposals for the site every week. However, the news of the closing is still rather fresh, so I imagine it will take some time (and lots of money) to complete a plan for this facility. Certainly, it was designed to discover and develop drugs, so the next logical tenants would probably be some type of pharmaceutical or biotechnology company.
Now that the news is settling in what is the morale like?
Ann Arbor Pfizer colleagues, as usual, have been awesome. In spite of the closing, people have truly pulled together to help each other. One might think that the competition for external and internal jobs would be a natural environment for dog-eat-dog, me-first type attitudes. This has not been the case. I have even seen colleagues who are applying for jobs inform others who might be in competition with them about the very same jobs. These people are remarkable and I'm proud to have worked with them.
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