Amgen
announced today it would cut 2,400 to 2,900 employees, or 12 percent to 15
percent of its total workforce, with the firings beginning this year and
continuing through 2015. Most of the job reductions will come in the U.S.,
Amgen said. The company also said it will close facilities in Washington and Colorado, while expanding its presence in South San
Francisco, California, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The
changes “will allow us to reallocate resources to invest in our upcoming
launches and drive growth,” Chief Executive Officer Robert Bradway said in the
statement.
“The
great companies are constantly figuring out how to do better,” Bill Smead,
chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Smead Capital
Management, which owns Amgen shares, said in a telephone interview. “They have
a great balance between creating shareholder value and keeping an eye to the future.”
Amgen
said it would take a pretax charge of $775 million to $950 million for the
costs of the restructuring.
The
job reductions announced today are in addition to those made earlier this year.
In March, Amgen said it would cut 252 sales and corporate positions and
announced plans to eliminate an additional 70 information service jobs in June.