Silicon Valley biotech firm chops more than 150 Bay Area jobs

SANTA CLARA — Agilent Technologies, a Silicon Valley biotech firm that’s a spinoff from tech company legend Hewlett-Packard, has disclosed plans to slash more than 150 jobs in the Bay Area.

The biotech company, which has plenty of software and tech expertise, has decided to eliminate 156 jobs in Santa Clara, according to an official notice the company sent to the state Employment Development Department.

Santa Clara-based Agilent said the job cuts would take effect Aug. 9, the company stated in the WARN letter to the California EDD.

“Agilent Technologies plans to reorganize various business units,” the biotech company reported in the state government filing.

The job cuts were expected to be “permanent,” Agilent said.

Agilent was born in 1999 when it was spun off from legendary Silicon Valley tech pioneer Hewlett-Packard.

The company’s current expertise is in biotech-related instruments, software, services and products that can be used in medical and life sciences laboratories.

The Bay Area layoffs were slated to occur at the Agilent headquarters at 5301 Stevens Creek Boulevard in Santa Clara.

Separately, Agilent reported plans to trim another 28 positions at California locations outside of the Bay Area, in Folsom (Sacramento County); San Diego and its La Jolla neighborhood; and Carpinteria (Santa Barbara County).

Agilent also told the EDD that laid-off workers won’t be able to displace employees with less seniority.

“There are no union-represented employees, and no bumping or seniority rights exist for these positions,” Agilent stated in the WARN letter.