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Layoffs at Amgen begin
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More from BusinessAmgen Inc. began notifying some employees Wednesday that they no longer had jobs with the giant biotechnology company.
The dismissals were among the previously announced 675 involuntary layoffs that are expected to be completed by the end of this month at the company's headquarters in Thousand Oaks. About 700 workers worldwide who accepted voluntary buyouts started leaving the company last week.
Before the cutbacks, Amgen employed about 8,200 people at its campus in Thousand Oaks and 20,000 worldwide. An additional 825 jobs are being cut at other company locations.
People affected by the layoffs are being offered a severance package to help them find jobs as soon as possible, Amgen spokesman David Polk said in an e-mail.
The package includes a combination of cash, company-paid health insurance through the end of next year and career transition services. The minimum amount of cash severance is 24 weeks of pay.
Polk said Amgen has contracted with a consulting firm to run career transition centers, provide workshops and maintain a job bank. Amgen has been contacted by a number of companies wanting to interview employees affected by the layoffs.
Exclusive job fairs for Amgen employees affected by the layoffs are being planned, Polk said.
Amgen announced in August it was laying off workers and offering voluntary buyouts to eligible employees as part of its restructuring plan to cut costs in the wake of declining revenue from its top anemia drug. The safety of anemia drugs has been questioned by several studies, resulting in new warning labels and stricter rules for how Medicare pays for those drugs.
The company did not say how many employees from each site took voluntary buyouts. Amgen's shares (Nasdaq: AMGN) rose 54 cents to $57.62 Wednesday.
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