Oct. 13--Pfizer will soon complete its $60 billion acquisition of fellow pharmaceutical colossus Wyeth. For the merger to make business sense the new, larger Pfizer will have to close redundant facilities and eliminate superfluous jobs, with industry analysts predicting 19,000 layoffs worldwide.

It takes cold calculation in the midst of a recession to dismiss as surplus some of the world's best-trained research scientists, decimating local economies in the process. But corporations are beholden only to the bottom line and shareholders.

This does not mean, however, that state and local officials must sit back and wait to see where the ax may fall. Since the announcement of the planned merger months ago, there has been speculation that cuts will come locally at Pfizer Global Research and Development, with its research campus in Groton and offices in New London.

Some industry watchers consider the research headquarters in New London to be particularly vulnerable. With their unwillingness to comment on any post-merger changes, Pfizer executives have fed suspicions.

The governor's office and state Department of Economic and Community Development need to reach out to Pfizer leadership with a willingness to discuss what the state might be able to do to move the New London and Groton facilities up the priority list when it comes to deciding what jobs and facilities to preserve.

The region benefitted from past mergers, with the Groton facility absorbing about 1,000 jobs when the corporation closed its Ann Arbor, Mich., research campus. It cannot count on such good fortune again.

It is also not too soon to consider alternative uses for the New London offices, should Pfizer choose to close its operations there. The city must avoid a nonprofit use of the space that would strip it from the tax rolls.

As an incentive to build its research headquarters in New London, Pfizer received a 10-year tax abatement that expires after 2011. Pfizer is only paying property taxes based on 20 percent of the assessed value of its New London property, but still is the top taxpayer, generating $1.3 for the city this year. Pfizer has to maintain at least 1,000 jobs at the facility to keep the tax break. About 1,400 employees now work there.

In 2012 Pfizer begins paying the full load, about $6.1 million based on the current tax rate.

Given the jobs, the potential impact on tax revenues and the economic implications, wait and see is not sufficient. If Pfizer announces a closing, it will likely be too late to act. Make the calls now.

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