Pfizer also provided per-share earnings guidance for 2007 in the range of $2.18 to $2.25, which would represent growth of between 6% and 9%. A Thomson Financial consensus estimate puts the company's earnings at $2.19 for the year.
In 2008, Pfizer anticipates earnings of $2.31 a share to $2.45 a share. Thomson Financial forecasts 2008 profits of $2.30.
Pfizer said it expects sales for 2007 and 2008 to remain comparable to last year's sales.
Analysts are skeptical that Pfizer's crop of current and pipeline products can generate enough sales to compensate for the lost revenue. Pressure on Pfizer has intensified since safety issues forced it to halt development of the star drug in its pipeline, which was slated to replace Pfizer's best-selling drug Lipitor as it loses patent protection as early as 2010.
"You can't cost cut your way to prosperity," said Les Funtleyder, an analyst at Miller Tabak & Co.
Still, the cuts do help shore up business and remain a good short-term strategy as the company seeks acquisitions to boost revenue, said Barbara Ryan, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
The latest cuts come on the heels of Pfizer's announcement two months ago that it was laying off about 20 percent of its U.S. sales representatives, around 2,200 people. Those cuts are included in the 10,000 layoffs announced Monday.
Analysts estimated that move would save between $400 million and $500 million annually.
Two years ago, Pfizer announced it was slashing $4 billion in costs by 2008 and that effort is ongoing.
Earlier Monday, the drugmaker reported that its quarterly profit more than tripled on the sale of its consumer health business, although revenue was flat amid lower sales of its Lipitor cholesterol fighter and generic competition for several medicines.
Pfizer earned $9.45 billion in the fourth quarter, or $1.32 a share, compared with $2.73 billion, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier.
