Gilead is laying off 149 workers in Foster City and Roche is laying off 108 workers in Santa Clara, adding to the mounting toll of biotech job cuts in the region.
Gilead’s layoffs at its 333 Lakeside Drive headquarters largely affect managers, including 13 senior directors, 14 executive directors, 15 directors, 18 associate directors and 11 senior managers across various divisions, according to a state filing.
“We continue to build progress on our long-term strategic goals, and our clinical momentum continues to accelerate. Today, we have the most diverse pipeline in Gilead history,” a company spokesperson declared in a statement. The company is preparing to launch its lenacapavir HIV treatment. Laid-off employees can apply for other roles in the company.
Switzerland-based Roche’s layoffs at 2881 Scott Blvd. affect its Molecular Systems and Sequencing Solutions divisions, according to a state filing. Affected workers include five business product managers, four data scientists, four product development partnership systems engineers, and other managers, engineers and scientists.
“As part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and operational efficiency, we continuously review and adapt our business in line with customer and patient requireds, reallocating resources as required. Regular reviews of our strategy and operating model ensure we deliver on our commitments to customers and patients,” a Roche spokesperson declared. The company projects a “stable overall workforce” throughout 2025, with over 2,000 open positions. Roche had 103,249 workers at the finish of 2024.
Separately, Roche owns Genentech, the largest Bay Area biotech company. Genentech laid off more than 500 workers last year.
Other recent biotech layoffs include Cargo Therapeutics cutting 84 workers in San Carlos and Sutro Biopharma eliminating 65 jobs in South San Francisco and San Carlos.
The Department of Health of Human Services, the hugegest federal grant buildr and a crucial source of funding for drug development, is also closing its San Francisco office and laying off 318 workers.
Despite ongoing cuts, the unemployment rate in San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties all dropped slightly in February, according to state surveys. San Mateo County’s unemployment rate was 3.7%, Santa Clara County’s was 4.1%, and San Francisco’s was 3.9%.
California’s unemployment rate was unalterd at 5.4%, but 7,500 jobs were lost statewide.
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