Biotechnology company Amgen Inc. said Wednesday it will cut up to 14 percent of its global workforce and trimmed profit guidance because of lower-than-expected sales of its anemia drug Aranesp.
The Thousand Oaks, Calif.- based company said it plans to slash between 2,200 and 2,600 positions from its workforce of 20,000, or 12 to 14 percent.
Amgen has manufacturing facilities in Boulder and Longmont, with a total of 1,250 employees in the state. There are 16,000 Amgen employees nationwide.
Company spokeswoman Debbi Ford said Amgen hasn’t figured out if, or how, those cuts would affect its Colorado workforce.
She said the company plans “to minimize the number of staff members impacted” through attrition and hiring freezes. Amgen also announced a new buyout program Wednesday based on years of service and age. About 2,300 U.S. Amgen employees are eligible, Ford said.
The company has been in “growth mode” since its inception in 1980 and has not had a massive layoff, Ford said.
“The proposed reduction would get us back to 2006 staffing levels,” she said.
In June, Amgen had 18,000 employees worldwide.
Amgen Colorado doesn’t manufacture Aranesp – which is produced in Puerto Rico – but does produce four of its eight drugs in the state. It also manufactures drugs being tested in late-stage clinical trials.
The company had previously said it would cut back on expansion plans overseas and would refocus resources on research and development.
In June, Amgen said it would expand its facilities in Longmont, bringing information technology, finance and human resources jobs there. However, those plans may be on hold, Ford said.
“We are evaluating all of our capital project plans and expansion plans. That is now part of all of this (which is under) consideration,” she said. “We don’t have details yet.”
Amgen will take a restructuring charge between $600 million and $700 million. The company also reduced its adjusted earnings-per-share guidance for the full year to between $4.13 per share and $4.23 per share from previous guidance of $4.28 per share. Amgen said it expects to complete the reductions by 2008 and save between $1 billion and $1.3 billion.
The moves do not come as a surprise. Amgen signaled problems last month when it reported that worldwide sales of its anemia-treating drug Aranesp dropped 10 percent to $949 million in the second quarter. Aranesp was the company’s best-selling drug last year, with $4.12 billion in sales.
Shares of Amgen closed in regular trading down 73 cents at $50.59.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-954-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
