Biotech companies shed hundreds of Bay Area jobs in fresh layoffs

George Avalos, The Mercury News on Apr 1, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Life sciences companies have decided to chop hundreds of Bay Area jobs in a fresh wave of layoffs that hint at ongoing turbulence in the region’s biotech sector, state labor agency posts show.

All told, the biotech companies have revealed their intentions to slash 310 Bay Area jobs, according to official notices the companies sent to the California Employment Development Department.

The layoffs add to what is shaping up to be a shaky early 2025 for the Bay Area job market and advanced technology industry.

Here are the details of some of the anticipated job cuts that life sciences companies have disclosed to the state EDD:

— Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company, 149 layoffs in Foster City. The staff reductions are slated to occur on May 27.

— Roche Molecular Systems, a unit of pharmaceutical titan Roche, 108 job cuts in Santa Clara. The layoffs are scheduled for May 28.

— Nkarta, a biotech company, 53 job cuts in South San Francisco. The downsizing occurred on March 31.

The job cuts were all described as permanent in each of the three instances, according to the WARN notices posted by the state EDD. The employees involved are not part of a union and do not have the right to displace workers with less seniority.