Thermo Fisher eliminating 160 jobs, closing Massachusetts facility

Dive Brief:

• Thermo Fisher Scientific is eliminating 160 jobs as part of changes to its viral vector production network, the company said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing last week.
• Three sites in Massachusetts account for most of the layoffs. Thermo Fisher is closing a facility in Lexington and laying off a smaller amount at its plants in Cambridge and Plainville. The biotechnology company expects layoffs to begin Jan. 6 and possibly continue through Nov. 6, 2026.
• A company spokesperson said in an email the changes reflect the expansion of operations at the Plainville site, which the company opened in 2022, and are intended to optimize resources.

Dive Insight:

Demand for viral vectors, which are used in the production of cell and gene therapies, outpaced supply in the late 2010s and into the 2020s as more candidates entered clinical development. Thermo Fisher and other contract development and manufacturing organizations responded by investing in production facilities. However, investment in cell and gene therapies has fallen sharply this year.

Against that backdrop, Thermo Fisher is restructuring its viral vector production network. The closure of the Lexington facility will affect more than 100 jobs, according to the WARN filing. Thermo Fisher is also eliminating positions at its Cambridge and Plainville sites. 

The Thermo Fisher spokesperson said moving work to Plainville “allows us to better optimize resources across our manufacturing network.” All programs currently managed by the Lexington site will transfer to Plainville. As part of the changes, the company has “adjusted staffing levels” at its sites in Cambridge and Plainville, the spokesperson said. 

The layoffs are the latest in a series of cuts by Thermo Fisher, which reduced its global headcount from approximately 130,000 at the end of 2022 to approximately 122,000 at the end of 2023.

California was hit particularly hard by the layoffs, with Thermo Fisher eliminating hundreds of positions in seven filings between January 2023 and November 2023, according to an analysis of state databases by MedTech Dive. Thermo Fisher also submitted a layoff filing in the state for 74 positions in March.