Thermo Fisher Scientific is laying off 106 San Diego employees in the fifth round of local layoffs at the life science company this year.
The global biotechnology company filed Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) with the state that outline the job cuts. Thermo Fisher’s WARN notices say the company “is reorganizing and will be engaging in a reduction in force of its employees,” but does not provide further details about the decision.
The biggest reductions — 98 employees — hit Thermo Fisher’s facilities in Carlsbad at 5823 Newton Drive, 5781 Van Allen Way and 5791 Van Allen Way. These separations may continue through Aug. 27, the company said, and impact a variety of roles from data analysts to staff scientists and marketing managers.
Not all employees at the Carlsbad campus are affected, according to the WARN notice.
Additionally, the company reported that eight positions will be eliminated at its Kearny Villa Road, Carroll Park Drive and Cornerstone Court San Diego facilities. In April, Thermo Fisher confirmed that it was closing these three locations, which primarily produced diagnostic products and COVID-19 tests.
Thermo Fisher closing 3 San Diego facilities, laying off 218 workers At the time, the company cited the sharp decline in demand for COVID-19 testing products and the uncertain economic environment for the closures. The company also announced in April that it laid off 218 people.
The winding down of these diagnostic-focused facilities meant that the company’s only remaining offices in San Diego County would be in Carlsbad. In July 2021, Thermo Fisher expanded and opened a 67,000-square-foot DNA manufacturing facility near its existing Carlsbad campus.
The global life science company is based in Waltham, Mass., and has approximately 130,000 employees globally, as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to its annual financial filing. The company’s website says its Carlsbad site has more than 2,200 employees.
However, that number has declined as the company has laid off a total of 796 people in San Diego this year.
In mid-June, the company reported to the state that it laid off 88 workers at its Carlsbad facilities. Thermo Fisher shed 154 workers in March and 230 people in February — the largest company’s reduction this year.
Thermo Fisher did not respond to the Union-Tribune’s request for comment.
In the company’s second-quarter earnings call last week, Thermo Fisher’s chief financial officer, Stephen Williamson, responded to an analyst’s question about how the company is adapting its business strategy and forecasts in response to the uncertain economic environment.
“We’re appropriately reducing headcount where that makes sense across the business,” Williamson said. “And so all of that wraps up into $450 million of benefit this year. And those actions have pretty much all been actioned right now in of the — there’s nothing significant to come. It’s more they’ve taken the appropriate actions given the environment that we see.”
Thermo Fisher reported second-quarter revenue of $10.69 billion, down 2.58 percent compared to this time last year. Profits were $1.36 billion also down about 18.21 percent year over year.
