Layoffs

As Britain’s plans to leave the European Union—Brexit—stagger toward the March 29 deadline, the UK biopharma industry is taking stock of the likely impact.

First reported by the San Antonio Business Journal, the company will cut about 265 employees, 200 from its Alamo City site and the rest from its Charlotte facility. The cuts are part of a restructuring and will be handled over time, rather than all in one fell swoop of pink slips.

When biotech companies post openings for new positions, hiring managers often face the immense task of sorting through numerous resumes of qualified candidates. However, in South Korea, hiring managers are facing a different problem – a dearth of qualified candidates.

In this week’s edition of Movers and Shakers, biopharma companies tap executives to serve in various leadership roles.

According to WARN notices, the two companies will slash a total of 106 jobs starting in March.

Despite the significant amount of finances invested in the Bay Area biotech environment, December and January saw a significant number of job cuts.

Singapore-based ASLAN slashed 30 percent of its staff following a recent mid-stage failure, and California-based Aduro has cut 37 percent of employees.

Vertex fired Chief Operating Officer Ian Smith, who had also been serving as interim chief financial officer since December. The Boston-based company said it promptly launched a comprehensive investigation into the allegations made against Smith with the assistance of an independent external counsel.

uBiome has announced a 10% reduction in staff, amounting to 55 jobs, while Theravance recently announced layoffs of 50 workers. Both companies have a significant presence in San Francisco.

Based in South San Francisco, Five Prime Therapeutics announced that as part of a restructuring program, it will eliminate 41 current jobs, or about 20 percent of its current headcount. The positions cut will be mostly in areas related to research, pathology and manufacturing. The company expects a decrease in net cash this year, with savings coming in 2020.