Thermo Fisher Scientific is laying off 74 workers at a plasmid DNA manufacturing facility in Carlsbad, California, according to a state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.
Layoffs will take effect May 31. The biotech and medical device company is still exploring options for the site's future and no decision has been made regarding the fate of its operations, according to a Thermo Fisher spokesperson.
"There are times when we must adjust staffing levels to remain in line with current volume demands," the company said in a statement. "In alignment with this ongoing effort, we have made the decision to adjust staffing levels in our plasmids manufacturing laboratory at our location in Carlsbad, California."
The closure comes less than three years after the biotech giant opened the site in a bid to tap into rising demand for cell and gene therapies and vaccines. The 67,000-square-foot facility was expected to create 150 jobs when the project was first announced in December 2020.
The medical device and equipment manufacturer has been downsizing its California operations over the past year, particularly in the San Diego area. Thermo Fisher closed sites in Carroll Park Drive, Kearny Villa Road and Cornerstone last spring and cut 218 jobs amid waning demand for COVID-19 testing products.
The financial headwinds continued throughout 2023. The company announced $450 million in cost cuts last year, including layoffs, citing a challenging macroeconomic environment in Q2.
Revenue was also down overall last year, sinking 5% year over year to about $42.9 billion, according to a Thermo Fisher earnings release.
The company is expecting to hold relatively steady revenue in fiscal year 2024, with a guidance range of $42.1 billion to $43.3 billion, Chairman, President and CEO Marc Casper said during a January earnings call.
The medtech and drug manufacturing industries have been rife with layoffs and downsizing in recent months amid funding challenges and the end of the pandemic-driven vaccine and testing boom.
Several medical device companies have already announced closures and layoffs so far this year. Baxter International announced plans in February to close its manufacturing operations in Acton, Massachusetts, while Carclo announced plans in February to close its Tuscon, Arizona, plastics injection molding manufacturing facility.
