Local News

Major pharmaceutical company to cut nearly 250 Massachusetts jobs

The layoffs by Cambridge-based Takeda, affecting its Kendall Square workforce, are part of a restructuring plan to save $1.25 billion annually by 2028.

The Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. Kiyoshi Ota

By Autumn Sloboda

1 minute to read

Takeda is planning its latest round of layoffs in Cambridge. Nearly 250 Massachusetts employees are expected to be affected as part of a broader restructuring plan.

A notice filed with the state says the cuts involve workers at Takeda’s 500 Kendall St. location. The layoffs are expected to begin in July, with some separations extending later into 2026 and into 2027.

The layoffs are part of a transformation plan approved by Takeda’s board on March 25. In a company announcement, Takeda said the effort is expected to generate more than 200 billion Japanese yen in annualized savings by fiscal 2028, or about $1.25 billion. The company said the plan is aimed at simplifying operations and shifting resources as it prepares for several expected product launches.

Advertisement:

“Today, Takeda is setting the stage to make a greater impact on the lives of patients as we prepare to launch multiple new medicines and continue to deliver on the promise of our pipeline,” CEO-elect Julie Kim said in the announcement. She added that the company’s “deliberate steps” are intended to help Takeda move faster and position itself for long-term growth.

The latest layoffs continue a series of pullbacks by the biopharma giant, which has its U.S. base in Massachusetts. The Boston Globe reported that Takeda announced a major restructuring effort in 2024 that included hundreds of Massachusetts layoffs. The Globe also reported that Takeda cut Cambridge jobs last year after ending its cell therapy work.

Takeda has also been reshaping its physical footprint in Cambridge. Fierce Biotech reported in February that the company had put more than 630,000 square feet on the sublease market. The move comes as Takeda shifts to a new research and development hub at 585 Kendall St., which is expected to open later this year.

Advertisement:

Takeda is not the only life sciences company making cuts in Massachusetts. The Boston Globe reported that Moderna and Thermo Fisher Scientific have also announced layoffs in the state in recent months.

Have you been laid off?

When and where did the layoff occur? How many people were laid off? What were the factors behind the decision?
Your name may be published.
Your neighborhood/town may be published.
What are your pronouns?

Please select your preferred pronouns so we may correctly refer to your response in an article.
Please enter an email address if you're interested in receiving Boston.com's Headlines newsletter.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sign up for the Today newsletter

Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.

SIGN UP

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile