Boehringer Ingelheim has confirmed that it has eliminated 244 additional positions in the U.S. since July, three-quarters of them based at its U.S. headquarters in Ridgefield, CT.
The pharma said the job cuts consisted of 64 sales positions nationwide and 180 headquarters positions—of which 120 were in small-molecule Discovery Research and the other 60 in administrative functions.
In a statement, Boehringer Ingelheim said the layoff of the Ridgefield-based small-molecule researchers followed a company decision to consolidate small-molecule discovery activity in Biberach, Germany, and Vienna, Austria, and shut down operations in Ridgefield and Milan, Italy.
“The actions we are taking now will help us reinvent the way we serve the needs of our patients and enable us to continue to identify new medical breakthroughs,” Boehringer Ingelheim said in a statement.
Boehringer Ingelheim added that a leaner global Discovery Research organization will allow the company to step up spending in oncology research, with a focus on cancer immunology.
“A new group will be formed and led out of Ridgefield beginning in 2017 that will focus on cancer immunology discovery research. This new group will result in approximately 35 new positions in Connecticut,” the company stated.
Employees were notified of the layoffs yesterday, the News-Times of Danbury, CT, reported.
“We will support affected employees in a number of ways, including severance, outplacement services, and identifying other employment opportunities within the Boehringer Ingelheim network, as appropriate.”
The latest layoffs come 5 months after the company eliminated 725 positions nationwide, including 50 based at the Ridgefield campus, which straddles the town’s border with Danbury, CT.
