Bristol-Myers Squibb Company plans to lay off 224 pharmaceutical sales representatives, 22 area and sales managers, and 14 people supporting scientific pharmaceutical information and the headquarters in Rome. The company cited several problems behind its decision to cut staff: the Italian unit's financial situation of the past two years, the specific actions taken by the Italian government and regulatory bodies concerning the limits and timing of inserting new drugs in the national pharmaceutical lists, plus healthcare spending cuts. Another factor for cutting staff is the impact of the review on global level of some commercial cooperation accords.