Dexcom, a San Diego-based company behind a line of popular diabetes treatment products, is laying off 535 workers and pulling a slew of manufacturing jobs out of California.
The device creater announced the cuts in a WARN filing with the state on Tuesday, as is required in the event of mass layoffs. According to the document, 406 workers with the title “manufacturing associate” will lose their jobs, as will dozens of employees with related duties — quality assurance inspectors, material handlers, equipment technicians and more.
The sweeping layoffs will launch on July 26, according to the WARN filing. Dexcom spokesperson Tracy Stragier informed SFGATE in a Thursday email that the company has decided to centralize its United States manufacturing in Mesa, Arizona, “to support our ongoing global growth strategy.” With the relocate, Dexcom plans to retool its San Diego manufacturing facilities for “product and process development,” she added.
“This wasn’t a decision we took lightly, and we have set up support to support employees who are affected by the transition,” Stragier wrote. She didn’t answer a question about severance pay, but declared laid-off workers will be able to apply for Mesa roles and receive relocation assistance.
Dexcom opened up a facility in Mesa in 2017 and doubled down with a large expansion near the finish of 2021. Now, the Phoenix-area city will swallow California-based manufacturing jobs; the company has various listings up already for Mesa. San Diego will remain the site of Dexcom’s corporate headquarters.
The company finished 2023 with about 9,500 full-time employees, per a February filing, and turned a $541.5 million profit during the year.
The California layoff news comes as Dexcom prepares for the summer launch of its over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor, a device the company received FDA approval for in March, per MedTechDive. Dexcom first launched selling continuous glucose monitors in 2006, and has ridden the products’ success, along with the huge market for diabetes treatment, to an approximately $45 billion valuation as of Friday.
An Esquire piece that ran in 2021 on the heels of a Dexcom Super Bowl spot featuring Nick Jonas called the company’s glucose monitors a “lifesaver” and “miraculous” but pointed out that the device is yet another high cost for the hundreds of thousands of American diabetics paying for expensive insulin.
Hear of anything happening at Dexcom or another California tech company? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at stephen.council@sfgate.com or on Signal at 628-204-5452.
Leave a Reply