Bristol-Myers freezes salaries for 2010

NEW YORK Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY.N) said on Wednesday it will freeze salaries for 2010 except in the case of employees for whom increases are legally mandated.

"I can confirm we did announce to employees that we will eliminate salary increases for 2010," Bristol-Myers spokeswoman Sonia Choi said of the latest cost cutting measure.

"That's applicable to all of our employees except where those practices can't be done based on legal or contractual obligation," Choi said.

The news likely came as a shock to many Bristol-Myers employees as the company did hand out annual raises in 2008 and 2009 at the depth of the economic recession.

The company was not able to immediately say how many employees are affected by the wage freeze.

Asked if the freeze also applies to upper management, Choi said: "It's across the board."

Bristol-Myers last week forecast 2010 earnings of $2.15 to $2.25 per share, excluding items. That would be growth of some 16 percent to 22 percent over 2009 levels.

But the company is girding for the late 2011 loss of patent protection on Plavix, the $8 billion-a-year blood clot preventer it shares with French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA).

Branded drugs quickly lose upward of 80 percent of their revenue when faced with competition from cheap generics. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)