Following last week’s news that generic drugmaker Hikma is acquiring parts of Xellia’s assets in the U.S., the Danish drugmaker has unveiled plans for a fresh round of layoffs.
In connection with the sale of the company’s Bedford plant on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio, to Hikma, Xellia said it’s cutting 247 positions in the U.S. Of the affected staffers, 214 work at the Bedford facility, Xellia said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) alert sent to the state.
The round of cuts will kick off in August and cover multiple roles at the company, including analytical chemists, aseptic operators, automation engineers, IT technicians and managerial positions.
The latest layoff round marks the second for Xellia this year.
Back in December 2023, in a separate WARN alert, the company noted it would start cutting roughly 80 positions at the Bedford plant starting in February.
News of last week’s staff cull follows London-based Hikma’s decision to shell out $135 million in cash and another $50 million in contingencies to snatch up parts of Xellia’s assets in the U.S., including its manufacturing facility in the Cleveland suburbs.
The Bedford site features end-to-end capabilities to develop, manufacture, pack and distribute freeze-dried vials and aseptically filled ready-to-use IV bag products, according to Hikma’s release last week.
Aside from the Bedford plant, Hikma is also getting its hands on a range of Xellia’s ready-to-use products like Vanco Ready (vancomycin), which is used to treat bacterial infections. Plus, the company is acquiring an R&D facility and its staff located in Zagreb, Croatia.