Thermo Fisher Scientific has begun laying off hundreds of workers at three manufacturing sites in San Diego County that will soon be shuttered.
According to three Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices added to the state’s database this week, Thermo Fisher is permanently eliminating a total of 230 jobs here due to a major drop off in demand for the company’s COVID-19 testing products.
In a letter sent to California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) regarding the workforce reduction, Nancy Austin, vice president of human resources within Thermo Fisher’s genetic sciences group, wrote that the layoffs began Jan. 31 and are expected to continue through Feb. 28.
The cuts “are due to unforeseeable business circumstances caused in part [by] a sudden downturn in demand for COVID-19 testing products and other evolving economic and business conditions,” Austin wrote in the letter to the EDD.
The staffing reduction reportedly will allow Thermo Fisher to improve efficiency and remain competitive and in line with current manufacturing volume demands.
Founded in 1956, Thermo Fisher is headquartered in Waltham, MA and has more than 80,000 employees worldwide.
