Groton - A sentiment echoed Tuesday throughout a town reeling from the news that Pfizer will cut one-quarter of its work force over the next 18 months: It could have been worse.

Jim Streeter, the Town of Groton mayor, said Pfizer's announcement hurts the community at its core. Still, Pfizer could just have easily pulled out of Groton altogether, as it has from other locations in the United States and across the world, he conceded.

"Pfizer and Pfizer employees are a major part of our community, not only the business but the people. They're our neighbors and our friends, and we hate like hell to see this happen. But this is a corporate decision that has to be made, and we're lucky they haven't decided to close the whole facility," Streeter said.

"It will impact us (town government) to some to degree, and of course we will hate to see our friends impacted. Pfizer is a good neighbor to us, and Pfizer is part of our community: their employees serve on our boards and commissions, they go to our churches and our businesses. They are our neighbors, and we just hate to see this happen."

Streeter said municipal leaders had received warning that Pfizer would be downsizing in Groton. He said officials had asked if there was anything the town could do to change the company's mind or had done anything that made Pfizer want to leave.

"They said absolutely no, this was a business decision that had to be made," Streeter said.

Dennis Popp, the mayor of the City of Groton, did not respond to a telephone message left at his office Tuesday afternoon.

Streeter said Pfizer's announcement will likely have some impact on town spending. He noted that it could affect the number of students educated in town. Streeter said that neither he nor others foresaw a major change to the town's tax calculations.

State Rep. Edward E. Moukawsher of Groton said the town's property tax collections, which are heavily dependent on Pfizer, should be reassessed in case Pfizer's pullback continues.

"It seems like they've been adjusting to scale forever," he said.

State Rep. Tom Reynolds of Ledyard said the state needs to adopt policies that foster a state economy built around innovation.

"Only then will Connecticut realize long-term economic growth," Reynolds said in a statement. "It is so unfortunate for Southeastern Connecticut to lose these types of jobs to a neighboring state. We must continue to invest in education and worker training as well as our physical infrastructure if we are to be competitive in New England and have a bright future for our children."

He said the state needs to do more to attract and maintain technology firms, which often settle in places seen as innovation centers, such as Cambridge, Mass., where Pfizer is moving two Groton-based research units.

"As a state long renowned for innovation and hard work, we need to reposition ourselves as a hub of science and technology," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday.

m.collette@theday.com