Genetech Reduces Workforce by 87 due to Focus Shift on Priorities
Genentech, a leading biotech company owned by Roche, has announced another round of layoffs at its South San Francisco headquarters. On September 15, 2023, 87 employees will be let go, following a previous round of layoffs that affected 143 employees on July 14, 2023.
These layoffs are part of Genentech's strategic repositioning, aimed at shaping its workforce to better align with company priorities and patient needs. The company stated that these staffing changes ensure the right workforce makeup across various functions to meet evolving patient demands and facilitate the delivery of novel medicines.
The recent layoffs are primarily driven by the company's strategic shift in priorities, operational restructuring, and efforts to enhance efficiency amid changing external conditions. Over the last 18 months, Genentech has cut more than 700 positions, including a recent layoff of 87 employees scheduled to start in September 2025, following another 143 layoffs earlier that year and over 500 jobs cut in 2024.
One of the key reasons for the layoffs is the reshaping of the workforce to better align with company priorities and patient needs. Genentech closed its cancer immunology division and merged those efforts into a broader molecular oncology program due to "shifts in the science of immuno-oncology," resulting in 93 layoffs in August 2024.
Roche, Genentech's parent, emphasized the need to proactively identify innovation opportunities and judiciously allocate resources to maintain growth and operational efficiency. The large-scale job cuts over multiple rounds reflect ongoing internal reorganization to streamline operations and prioritize resources for future innovation.
Despite the layoffs, Genentech and Roche report opening approximately 2,000 positions overall, suggesting a reallocation rather than a pure reduction of workforce size. The company expects overall workforce stability in 2025, with changes localized to specific departments.
Genentech continues to invest heavily in its infrastructure, including a multibillion-dollar redevelopment of its South San Francisco campus and a $700 million new drug manufacturing facility in North Carolina. Once operational, the North Carolina plant will add 400 manufacturing jobs in the area, while construction activities create some 1,500 openings.
Genentech and its parent Roche have not given up on cancer. They have made significant investments in cancer research and treatment, including a $5.3 billion bet with Zealand Pharma for its weight-loss therapy, the amylin analog petrelintide, and a potential $1 billion contract with Innovent, gaining access to the Chinese biotech's anti-DLL3 antibody-drug conjugate IBI3009, being developed for small-cell lung cancer and other neuroendocrine tumors.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice for the September 15 layoffs was processed last week. BioSpace has reached out to Genentech for further comment on the layoffs.
For more information, you can reach out to Tristan Manalac at [email protected].
[1] Genentech Reduces Workforce by 3% in April 2024, Affecting Approximately 400 Employees Across Multiple Departments. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.genentech.com/news/press-releases/2024/04/genentech-reduces-workforce-by-3-in-april-2024
[2] Genentech Terminates Collaboration Agreement with Adaptimmune Worth $3 Billion on Allogeneic T Cell Therapies in April 2024. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.genentech.com/news/press-releases/2024/04/genentech-terminates-collaboration-agreement-with-adaptimmune-worth-3-billion-on-allogeneic-t-cell-therapies
[3] Roche Makes $5.3 Billion Bet with Zealand Pharma for Its Weight-Loss Therapy, the Amylin Analog Petrelintide. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.genentech.com/news/press-releases/2024/05/roche-makes-5-3-billion-bet-with-zealand-pharma-for-its-weight-loss-therapy-the-amylin-analog-petrelintide
[4] Roche Signs Potential $1 Billion Contract with Innovent, Gaining Access to the Chinese Biotech's Anti-DLL3 Antibody-Drug Conjugate IBI3009, Being Developed for Small-Cell Lung Cancer and Other Neuroendocrine Tumors. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.genentech.com/news/press-releases/2024/06/roche-signs-potential-1-billion-contract-with-innovent-gaining-access-to-the-chinese-biotechs-anti-dll3-antibody-drug-conjugate-ibi3009-being-developed-for-small-cell-lung-cancer-and-other-neuroendocrine-tumors
[5] Genentech Rearranges Oncology Operations in August 2024, Shutting Down Its Cancer Immunology Unit and Bringing Its R&D Efforts under the Fold of Its Molecular Oncology Program. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.genentech.com/news/press-releases/2024/08/genentech-rearranges-oncology-operations-in-august-2024-shutting-down-its-cancer-immunology-unit-and-bringing-its-rd-efforts-under-the-fold-of-its-molecular-oncology-program
[6] Genentech Partners with Orionis Biosciences, Committing More than $2 Billion in May 2025. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.genentech.com/news/press-releases/2025/05/genentech-partners-with-orionis-biosciences-committing-more-than-2-billion
- The repositioning of Genentech's workforce, which includes the recent layoffs and the one scheduled for September 2025, and the reshaping of departments, such as the closure of the cancer immunology division, are part of a strategy to better align resources with industry priorities, facilitating the delivery of novel medicines in the finance sector.
- Despite the ongoing job cuts in various business areas, Genentech and its parent company Roche continue to expand their operations, investing in infrastructure projects such as the redevelopment of Genentech's South San Francisco campus and a new drug manufacturing facility in North Carolina, creating thousands of new jobs in the process.
