North Carolina's Biologics to Pink Slip Another 132 Workers

North Carolina's Biologics to Pink Skip 132 Workers September 26, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

CARY, N.C. – Five months after its acquisition by McKesson Corp. was finalized as part of a $1.2 billion deal, North Carolina-based Biologics, Inc. announced it was terminating 132 employees, the Triangle Business Journal reported this morning.

The terminations are related to McKesson’s decision to relocate a Biologics’ “hub program” from Cary to a McKesson facility in Arizona, the Journal said. A Biologics’ spokesperson told the Journal the decision to relocate the program was part of an “effort to access the infrastructure and resources available in Scottsdale in order to support the expanding program.” The decision had been made after the April finalization of McKesson’s acquisition and not prior, the spokesperson said.

“Our immediate priority is to finalize all the details of the transition with our client and the Scottsdale location so that we can support our employees proactively through this transition,” the spokesperson said, according to the Journal. Biologics is an oncology pharmacy services and patient support services company.

Employees being terminated received notice on Sept. 1 and terminations are expected to be completed by Dec. 5. Some employees could be rehired and relocated, but how many that could be the Biologics spokesperson would not say, according to the Journal. Nor would the spokesperson provide updated information on how many employees were currently working at Biologics’ Cary facility. Before the current layoffs were announced, the Journal said the company employed 362. In 2015, Biologics announced it planned to hire 175 employees as part of an expansion plan that included a move into a new 76,000 square-foot facility.

Although the move will require the loss of jobs, Biologics is still undergoing some hiring to support its oncological programs. On its website, the company lists a number of positions in Cary , as well as numerous sales representatives across the United States.

Earlier this year parent company employees as part of need to trim costs due to the loss of some key customers, including the expiration of a contract with Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group and contract changes with Omnicare Corp. Prior to McKesson’s acquisition of Biologics Inc. McKesson conducted a “strategic review” of its cost structure following the loss of its customers and said “reductions to our workforce would be necessary to align our cost structure with our business needs.”

In February Biologics entered into the agreement to be snapped up by McKesson Specialty Health, a business unit of the McKesson Corporation. In addition of Biologics, at the same time McKesson acquired Vantage Oncology, LLC. At the time of the deal, McKesson said it wanted to bring the two companies under its umbrella to complement its “holistic approach to providing best–in-class care for oncology patients.” McKesson said the addition of Biologics “will extend McKesson’s oncology expertise across the continuum of care for patients, allowing the company to engage its manufacturer partners in new ways and to enhance its value proposition to providers, patients and payers.”

Back to news