Blackmoor Vituperative

Philip Morris USA announced Friday that it was laying off a metric buttload of employees. It is clear why this was necessary when one looks at the numbers.

Philip Morris USA employs (employed) around 7,500 people. In the third quarter of 2008, Philip Morris USA’s revenues from cigarettes and other tobacco products increased 2.8% to $5.08 billion from the same quarter last year. Operating companies income increased 5.7% from last year to $1.37 billion. [1]

1.37 billion per quarter * 4 quarters / 7,500 employees = roughly $730,000 profit per employee per year. (This assumes that the income is the same for the other three quarters, which it isn’t. But it’s close enough.)

Less than a million dollars profit per employee? GASP! Clearly, some fat needed to be cut!