Layoffs
Follow along as BioSpace tracks job cuts and restructuring initiatives.
The number of biotech and pharma professionals taking jobs they’re overqualified for is now over 50%, based on a BioSpace LinkedIn poll. A recruiting firm executive discusses the trend, the reasons behind it and why it doesn’t have to derail careers.
Far fewer companies are letting employees go so far in 2026 compared to 2025, but the number of people affected is trending up, especially this month, according to BioSpace tallies.
While Takeda is eliminating 4,500 roles across its global operations, the company has some 2,200 jobs currently open for hiring, for which internal candidates will be prioritized.
While average job postings live on BioSpace have increased year over year for nearly every month of 2026, the number of employees affected by made or planned layoffs by the end of that same period nearly matched what was seen in 2025.
Gilead is laying off Arcellx employees in California and Maryland, with some cuts effective this year and the remainder happening in 2027.
Opportunities increased by the end of the first quarter, according to BioSpace data.
The action affects BioNTech sites in Germany and Singapore, where the company expects to have excess capacity.
Passage Bio, which has been working toward a registrational trial for a drug candidate whose indications include frontotemporal dementia, is exploring strategic alternatives in addition to cutting staff.
Six biotechs based in California, Massachusetts, Washington and Denmark had to halt drug development efforts this year. One of their CEOs is now in an interim chief executive role at another biotech.
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