Illumina Announces Layoffs, Aims to Close Offices to Control Costs

The developer of genetic sequencing technology Illumina announced that it had started laying off employees to lessen the effects of high dollar values and persistent inflation on its bottom line. The industry leader in DNA sequencing technology, Illumina, announced on Monday that it has started to lay off employees and will downsize its real estate holdings in San Diego to decrease yearly costs by $100 million by the end of this year.

Illumina declined to provide the current number of layoffs

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the business made the job cuts public. It referred to the change as a component of a long-term initiative to "realign" its operating expenses.

As of late Monday, no WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) filings were available, which call for 60 days' notice before mass layoffs. To lower annualised run rate costs by more than $100 million in 2023, the firm plans to downsize its staff in the third quarter and its real estate footprint in California.  

Illumina has started to fire 10% of its research and development staff

The corporation needed to clarify how many staff were let go, though. Illumina announced earlier this month that CEO Francis deSouza had resigned after a proxy fight with activist investor Carl Icahn. According to the corporation, the personnel reduction started on 21 June and would cost between $25 and $35 million, with most of those costs coming in the second quarter. According to a regulatory filing, around 10,200 full-time employees comprised the core of Illumina's global staff as of 1 January.

Round of layoffs in Illumina

Illumina's fiscal second quarter began on 21 June, when this round of layoffs started, but the company indicated it anticipates more personnel reductions in the following third quarter. The company, which controls an estimated 70% of the market for complicated DNA sequencing equipment and supplies, needs help.