Amgen lays off 100
Thousand Oaks-based Amgen laid off about 100 employees on July 22, the company confirmed to the Business Times.
The most recent round of cuts was among the company’s clinical manufacturing and quality-control workers. Previously, on May 1, Amgen laid off about 100 workers as part of an outsourcing of the company’s facilities services group, said Amgen spokeswoman Sarah Rockwell.
Amgen has steadily reduced its workforce since hundreds of layoffs were announced in the summer of 2007. The most recent cuts are part of the company’s “ongoing evaluation of staffing levels,” Rockwell said.
“Approximately 100 people in the United States were notified today. We are consolidating some of our clinical manufacturing and quality activities,” Rockwell told the Business Times via e-mail. “Each of the individuals notified was offered comprehensive severance benefits that include a minimum of six months salary, up to a year of company-paid health coverage and outplacement services, among other benefits.”
Amgen recently enjoyed a boost to its stock price after news that one of its experimental osteoporosis drugs beat a potential rival in a clinical study. On July 8, the stock gained about 14 percent, the biggest one-day rise in four years.
Investors are hoping the drug proves to be Amgen’s next blockbuster. Two years ago, federal regulators cracked down on the labeling of some of the company’s flagship kidney drugs, and the company laid off hundreds of workers at its Thousand Oaks headquarters after revenues sagged.
Amgen’s shares dropped a fraction of a percent to $58.37 on July 22.
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