Takeda will lay off 641 workers from two different Massachusetts sites, as part of multi-year efficiencies initiative revealed earlier this month.
The drugmaker will cut 495 staffers from its U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts and 146 from its Lexington site, according to a WARN notice posted last week.
The layoffs stem from an enterprise-wide organizational program announced earlier this month. The program will focus on agility, spending efficiencies and leveraging the company’s capabilities in data, digital and technology. Takeda had warned that it would include initiatives to optimize its workforce by "simplifying some division structures" and that the company would "rigorously prioritize" its R&D pipeline.
The news comes amid a busy deal-making month for the Japan-based drugmaker. Last week, Takeda inked a potential $1.2 billion license agreement with Shanghai-based Degron Therapeutics to discover and develop novel molecular glue degraders targeting oncology, neuroscience and inflammation. Earlier in May, Takeda signed another licensing agreement, this one potentially worth $2.1 billion, with Swiss biotech AC Immune to develop and commercialize an immunotherapy aimed at treating Alzheimer's disease.