Bristol-Myers Squibb is rolling up the Amylin tent in San Diego. After buying the smaller drugmaker last year, Bristol-Myers plans to shut down its former headquarters and lay off at least 400 workers.
Bristol-Myers ($BMY) says it plans to move all the Amylin operations to its own facilities by the end of 2014. Along the way, 100 to 125 headquarters employees will be offered a transfer. The remaining 300 or so will lose their jobs. More than 100 headquarters staff positions were already eliminated early this year. That brings the total job cuts at Amylin HQ to 400-plus.
The cuts are "eliminating redundant positions" to increase efficiency and cut costs, spokesman Frederick Egenolf told FierceBiotech in a statement. "This is consistent with our stated intention to rapidly integrate Amylin … while also simplifying operations," he said.
The HQ moves are part of an overall employment shuffle as Bristol-Myers integrates Amylin's operations into its own. Bristol-Myers bought the diabetes specialist for $5.3 billion and then brought AstraZeneca ($AZN) into the deal, adding considerable heft to their ongoing diabetes-drug partnership.
When Amylin changed hands, it had about 1,250 employees. More than 300 manufacturing jobs now in West Chester, Ohio, and another 400 field-based sales and medical positions "are being integrated into Bristol-Myers Squibb," Egenolf said.
- see the statement from Bristol-Myers
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