Johnson & Johnson joins Big Pharma's job-cutting parade

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), despite all its efforts and diversification, couldn't escape doing what most pharmaceutical companies have done in the face of increasing pressures from generic-drug companies and the recession. J&J said on Tuesday it plans to cut 6 percent to 7 percent of its workforce of approximately 117,000 in a bid to prop up profits.

The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company said the cuts, mostly achieved through reducing layers of management, will affect some 7,000 to 8,000 worldwide. But today is Election Day in the company's base state, and one cannot help but wonder if the timing of such an announcement from one of the largest private employers in New Jersey isn't politically motivated in support of the challengers in the three-way race for governor, or at least against the Democratic incumbent, Jon Corzine.