Eli Lilly to cut 5,500 jobs as Big Pharma winter approaches

It's no secret drug companies have been bracing for hard times. There are several factors at play, but none more serious as the growing number of drugs set to go off patent in the next two to four years, including several blockbusters. As the pharmaceutical companies prepare to face increased generic competition, they have very few new drugs in their pipelines to replace the lost sales.

Many companies have had no choice but to resort to restructuring to cut costs, including massive layoffs by the tens of thousands. Unfortunately, this coincided with the worst recession since the Great Depression. Since 2007, one company after another kept announcing job cuts, and today Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) added another 5,500 people to the ranks of the unemployed.