Biotechnology manufacturer Amgen Inc. on Wednesday notified about 150 of its Longmont-Boulder employees that their jobs will be eliminated Aug. 1.
“By this action, we basically eliminated positions in an effort to meet the needs of the business,” said Amgen Colorado spokeswoman Diana Sherman-Palmer.
“It was a decision we made locally to align with our current manufacturing demands at the Colorado site,” she said. “The positions were eliminated to maximize our manufacturing process.”
Sherman-Palmer said the firm employs about 850 people in Longmont and Boulder. The workforce will be reduced to about 700 as of Aug. 1, she said.
Sherman-Palmer said more than 40 jobs are being eliminated at the Boulder LakeCentre and more than 90 in Longmont. She said the jobs are support positions for manufacturing, business services, quality control, facilities and engineering.
Bryan Baum, Longmont’s mayor, said he isn’t worried about the cuts because Amgen still has hundreds of employees in Longmont and Boulder and is producing products worth billions.
“In this particular case, it is about efficiency in running the company,” said Baum. “They thought the market for some of the drugs would be stronger.”
Wendi Nafziger, vice president of the Longmont Area Economic Council, said the announcement was a surprise but said Amgen assured her that “they are optimizing their efficiency in the manufacturing sector.”
“We are happy it is not due to them shutting down a production line,” said Nafziger.
Amgen’s Longmont and LakeCentre facilities make treatments for several conditions, including chemotherapy side effects, anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease and osteoarthritis.
Sherman-Palmer said the employees losing their jobs are receiving a “comprehensive” package of cash severance, continued health benefits and outplacement services.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
