Amgen announces layoffs and relocations in Thousand Oaks

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Ventura county star




Nearly 500 Amgen Inc. employees in Thousand Oaks are expected to be reassigned, relocated or laid off throughout the next year and a half.

The Thousand Oaks-based biopharmaceutical company announced the organizational plans to employees on March 22. The staffing changes are part of Amgen’s plan to open a new facility in Tampa, Florida, that will employ around 450 people in roles ranging from human resources to information systems and finance. Amgen expects around 50 Thousand Oaks-based employees to relocate to the Florida facility, with the first wave of staff set to begin working at the Florida location in October.

Around 400 Amgen employees in Thousand Oaks will be impacted by the Tampa facility’s opening. Another 100 employees will be affected by Amgen’s desire to move more individuals into research and development positions in its Cambridge, Massachusetts and San Fransisco locations.

Amgen is one of Ventura County’s largest employers, with approximately 5,500 people currently working at its Thousand Oaks location. Although layoffs will impact some of the 500 employees affected by Amgen’s upcoming plans, the actual number of lost jobs will be much smaller than that, said Amgen spokeswoman Kristen Davis.

“The actual number of staff departing Amgen will be significantly below 500,” Davis said. “Some of the staff will be relocating and others will be changing roles in Thousand Oaks.

As for the decision to open a Tampa facility, the new facility is a strategic expansion that will help further connect Amgen to its global offices, Davis said. Amgen operates in a variety of countries ranging from China and Japan to Australia, Mexico, Brazil and much of Europe.

While some employees have been offered relocation packages for the Tampa, Cambridge and San Fransisco locations, Davis added that Amgen was looking to tap into each city’s talent pool and hire locally.

Davis again stressed that layoff numbers would be well below 500 and that impacted employees eligible to apply for roles within Amgen could do so. Thousand Oaks will continue to serve as Amgen’s headquarters and one of the company’s major research centers, Davis said.

“Thousand Oaks will remain a key research area and headquarters,” Davis said. “We value the relationship that we have with the local community."

Amgen does not have any new plans to sell off parts of its property in Thousand Oaks.

While he considered Amgen’s announced layoffs to be unfortunate, Thousand Oaks City Manager Andrew Powers reaffirmed the importance of Amgen to the local business community and noted that the company continued to strongly support Thousand Oaks.

“Any loss of jobs is always a concern, but when you have a global Fortune 500 company like Amgen, workforce changes and shifts do occur,” Powers said. “The import component for us as a city is that Amgen has continued to reinvest locally. Fluctuations are unfortunate, especially when they hit home for residents, but whenever you have a local employer that provides 5,000 jobs locally, it’s critical to Thousand Oaks and the broader Ventura County as a whole.”