Pictured: A sign in front of a Takeda building/JHVEPhoto/iStock
Two weeks after giving notice of plans to lay off more than 180 employees in Massachusetts, Takeda plans to cut more jobs, this time in California.
The cuts include 27 employees in the company’s San Diego location and will take effect on March 31, 2024, according to a WARN notice received Friday.
As with the Massachusetts layoffs, a Takeda spokesperson told BioSpace via email that the cuts in California are directly related to the company’s decision to discontinue discovery and pre-clinical efforts in AAV gene therapy as well as research and pre-clinical efforts in rare hematology.
“This specifically relates to the referenced notice in your past article regarding up to 138 roles for Takeda Development Centers America, Inc.,” the spokesperson said.
Though the spokesperson didn’t confirm if more layoffs will be announced soon, they did say that no new addition or reduction of operations in the state has been announced.
Original story, published May 8:
Takeda Cuts 180+ Jobs Amid Pipeline Shake-Up
Takeda plans to lay off about 186 employees in Massachusetts, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN) report updated Friday.
According to the report, the cuts will affect employees in four locations across three cities in Massachusetts: Cambridge, Lexington and North Reading. Up to 138 jobs will be cut from Takeda Development Centers America, and 48 will be cut from Takeda Shire Human Genetic Therapies, Inc. (SHGT).
The layoffs will begin in early July and wrap up before the end of the year, the company stated in the notice.
A Takeda spokesperson told BioSpace in an email that these layoffs are not part of a larger initiative to reduce staff across the company. Rather, they are part of an effort to make sure the company is “best positioned to meet [its] current and future priorities.”
“Changes are being made in a few very specific areas of the organization that impact some roles as a result—but there is no plan for a companywide reduction,” the spokesperson said.
Some affected workers may have the opportunity to stay at Takeda in a different role, the spokesperson added.
“Takeda is committed to supporting employees in impacted roles during this time in multiple ways, including transition resources, consultation services and assistance identifying other possible opportunities within Takeda.”
The spokesperson confirmed the layoffs are related to the company’s recent decision to reduce its preclinical and discovery efforts in adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapies and rare hematology and focus on its core therapeutic areas.
The cuts also include “adjustments that are being made outside of R&D within Takeda Shire Human Genetic Therapies, Inc.,” the spokesperson added.
Rosemary Scott is a content editor at BioSpace, focusing on the job market and career development for professionals in the life sciences. You can reach her at rosemary.scott@biospace.com and on LinkedIn.
