Illumina announces another round of layoffs in San Diego – San Diego Union-Tribune
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| Biotech Employment in San Diego Cooling sinc 2021 |
BIOTECH LAYOFF WAVE HITS SAN DIEGO: ILLUMINA ANNOUNCES SECOND ROUND OF CUTS IN 2025
April 24, 2025
San Diego's biotech industry is facing new challenges as gene sequencing giant Illumina announced 172 additional layoffs at its local headquarters, following 96 job cuts just two months earlier. The latest round will affect workers across multiple departments, from managerial positions to lab technicians, engineers, and scientists, according to paperwork filed with the state last week.
The company described these cuts as part of an ongoing $100 million cost reduction program announced last month. This follows China's ban on importing Illumina's genetic sequencers after placing the company on its "unreliable entity list" amid escalating trade tensions with the United States.
"As we continue executing our strategy, and in line with our $100 million cost reduction program, we took steps to ensure our talent and operating costs are aligned to enable Illumina's long-term success," a company spokesperson explained in a statement Wednesday.
The layoffs will be phased over several months, beginning June 16 and ending October 17. While specific San Diego employee numbers aren't disclosed, the state Employment Development Department reports Illumina's local workforce is somewhere between 1,000 to 4,999 employees. Globally, the company employs just under 9,000 full-time workers.
PART OF A BROADER PATTERN
These cuts aren't occurring in isolation. The Illumina layoffs come at a time when many companies, universities and research institutions - the customer base for its gene sequencing machines - are grappling with a wave of funding cuts coming out of the Trump administration. UC San Diego has warned it could lose up to $500 million annually in various kinds of funding.
The biotech sector across San Diego and nationally has been experiencing significant workforce reductions since 2023, with limited signs of improvement this year. The layoff pattern continues across multiple biotech companies in 2025, with firms like Tempest Therapeutics cutting 80% of its workforce and others like Pyxis Oncology trimming staff by 20%.
Pfizer recently sold its five-building campus in the Torrey Pines area and laid off 56 San Diego employees, while ImmunityBio cut 10 employees in California. Novartis is also winding down operations at its San Diego plant, with closure expected by mid-2025.
ECONOMIC PRESSURES AND INDUSTRY TRENDS
The gene sequencing company has faced multiple pressures beyond geopolitical tensions with China. Illumina has been working on a comeback strategy following the unwinding of its failed $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail, which was officially spun off last June. The company's stock has declined almost 42% year to date.
Industry experts point to several factors behind the ongoing biotech layoff trend. "I think everyone is afraid about funding for life science and research right now," said Phil Blair, co-founder of Manpower West, a San Diego staffing company. "They're not in major arrears now, but just frozen waiting for the next executive order, the next policies on X, what department is being decimated next."
Blair added that depending on government funding for research creates significant uncertainty in the current climate. "If you depend on cash flow from a government entity for research, it's a terrible time."
OPTIONS FOR DISPLACED WORKERS
Despite the challenging climate, San Diego remains the third-largest biotech hub in the United States after Boston/Cambridge and San Francisco. For those affected by the recent layoffs, there are still opportunities within the region's biotech ecosystem.
Several companies are actively hiring in San Diego. Companies like Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma, INOVIO, and Vividion are currently recruiting for positions ranging from research scientists to laboratory managers.
According to LinkedIn, approximately 950 biotechnology job openings currently exist in San Diego. Companies including AnaptysBio, Avidity Biosciences, Eli Lilly, Fate Therapeutics, Insmed, Lundbeck, and Mirador Therapeutics have active job listings for scientists, managers, and specialists.
However, competition for these positions is fierce as the overall industry continues to contract. Job seekers may need to consider broadening their search to adjacent industries or exploring contract and consulting roles until the sector stabilizes.
Industry forecasts suggest that while 2025 continues to present challenges, some experts predict the biotech job market may begin to rebound by late 2025 or early 2026 as funding environments improve and companies complete their cost-cutting initiatives.
SOURCES:
1. Weisberg, Lori. "Illumina announces another round of layoffs in San Diego." San Diego Union-Tribune, April 23, 2025. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/04/23/illumina-announces-another-round-of-layoffs-in-san-diego/
2. "The biotech job market in 2025: Still in survival mode?" Labiotech.eu, April 10, 2025. https://www.labiotech.eu/trends-news/biotech-job-market-2025/
3. "San Diego Biotech Jobs." San Diego Biotechnology Network, April 2025. https://sdbn.org/category/san-diego-biotech-jobs/
4. "Fierce Biotech Layoff Tracker 2025: Mural lays off 90%; Tempest cuts 80% of roles." Fierce Biotech, April 21, 2025. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/fierce-biotech-layoff-tracker-2025
5. "Illumina to lay off 96 San Diego employees." MedTech Dive, February 28, 2025. https://www.medtechdive.com/news/Illumina-layoffs-San-Diego-headquarters/741223/
6. "Top 20 Biotech Startups and Scaleups in San Diego in 2025." Scispot, March 2025. https://www.scispot.com/blog/top-20-biotech-startups-and-scaleups-in-san-diego
7. "7 Biotech Companies Hiring in San Diego." BioSpace, April 2025. https://www.biospace.com/career-advice/7-biotech-companies-hiring-in-san-diego
8. "950 Biotechnology jobs in San Diego, CA." LinkedIn, April 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/biotechnology-jobs-san-diego-ca
Illumina announces another round of layoffs in San Diego
Lori Weisberg
Just two months after announcing it would be laying off dozens of its San Diego employees, gene sequencing giant Illumina said it plans let go of 172 more workers.
In paperwork filed last week with the state, the company said the latest round of layoffs will affect workers at its San Diego headquarters and will take place over a span of several months, beginning June 16 and ending Oct. 17. The job cuts affect a wide swath of workers, from managerial positions to lab technicians, engineers and scientists, according to the WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) letter Illumina sent to the state.
In February, Illumina announced it would be laying off 96 San Diego workers.
The company, in a statement provided to the Union-Tribune, explained the action as part of an ongoing $100 million cost-cutting program announced last month. That same month, China announced it would begin banning imports of genetic sequencers from Illumina. The country is responsible for an estimated 7% of Illumina’s more than $4 billion in annual revenue.
Announcement of the ban came not long after China placed Illumina on its “unreliable entity list,” amid escalating trade tensions with the U.S. fueled by high tariffs President Donald Trump said he would be imposing on China.
“As we continue executing our strategy, and in line with our $100 million cost reduction program, we took steps to ensure our talent and operating costs are aligned to enable Illumina’s long-term success,” a company spokesperson said Wednesday. “Last week we shared with our employees that we made the difficult decision to reduce our (global) workforce by approximately 3.5 percent.”
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Illumina, which is one of San Diego’s largest public companies, does not break down its workforce by specific location so it’s unknown specifically how many people are employed by Illumina locally.
The state Employment Development Department reports the employee count in San Diego as somewhere between 1,000 to 4,999.
Of Illumina’s total workforce of just under 9,000 full-time employees globally, most — 5,250 — are based in the Americas region, according to Illumina’s annual report for 2024. The remainder are split among Europe (1,290), Africa/Middle East (2,190), and the greater China region (300).
The Illumina layoffs come at a time when many companies, universities and research institutions — the customer base for its gene sequencing machines — are grappling with a wave of funding cuts coming out of the Trump administration. UC San Diego has said that it could be facing an annual loss of as much as $500 million in various kinds of funding.
“I think everyone is afraid about funding for life science and research right now,” said Phil Blair, co-founder of Manpower West, a San Diego staffing company. “They’re not in major arrears now, but just frozen waiting for the next executive order, the next policies on X, what department is being decimated next.
“If you depend on cash flow from a government entity for research, it’s a terrible time.”
In addition to global pressures weighing on Illumina, it has had to grapple with a comeback strategy following the unwinding of the company’s failed $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail. The early stage blood testing company was officially spun off from Illumina last June.
Shares in Illumina closed Wednesday at $76.25, up $1.90 or 2.56%. Year to date, Illumina shares are down almost 42%.
Originally Published: April 23, 2025 at 5:20 PM PDT
Illumina announces another round of layoffs in San Diego – San Diego Union-Tribune
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