Gilead Sciences will eliminate 108 positions at its Redwood City location, marking yet another round of workforce reductions at one of the Bay Area’s largest biotechnology employers.
The permanent cuts take effect June 30 at 800 Bridge Parkway, according to a filing submitted last week to the California Employment Development Department. The company confirmed the layoffs stem from post-merger consolidation following this year’s purchase of Arcellx, a cancer cell therapy specialist.
“This is part of the integration following the close of the Arcellx acquisition,” Gilead said in a Tuesday statement. “These decisions are never taken lightly, and our focus is on supporting employees through this transition with transparency and respect.”
The Arcellx deal strengthened Gilead’s cell therapy portfolio, an area the Foster City firm has steadily expanded through its Kite subsidiary. Gilead operates across more than 35 countries with treatments targeting HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and various cancers.
These Redwood City cuts continue a pattern of California layoffs over the past year. In April 2025, the company dismissed 149 workers at its Foster City headquarters, primarily managers and directors spanning multiple divisions. Meanwhile, 34 employees at the company’s Oceanside campus in San Diego County, a site supporting clinical manufacturing and process development, received layoff notices effective March 27.
The reductions arrive as Gilead aggressively promotes its drug pipeline to investors. Executives plan appearances at four healthcare investor conferences in May and June, hosted by BofA Securities, RBC Capital Markets, Bernstein and Goldman Sachs. A key focus remains lenacapavir, the twice-yearly injectable HIV prevention drug approved by the FDA in 2025 under the brand name Yeztugo.
Despite the shrinking headcount, Gilead still ranks among the region’s top biotech employers. Bay Area Council Economic Institute data shows more than 8,000 workers in Foster City alone, including contractors, with a global workforce exceeding 18,000.
