Amgen Layoffs 2023: What to Know About the Latest AMGN Job Cuts

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  • Biotech company Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) announced it has laid off about 300 U.S. employees.
  • The job cuts amount to about 1.2% of the company’s total workforce.
  • Despite the bleak news, AMGN stock is relatively steady, down less than one percent.
AMGEN layoffs - Amgen Layoffs 2023: What to Know About the Latest AMGN Job Cuts

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Biopharmaceutical company Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) announced this morning it has laid off about 300 U.S. employees, equivalent to roughly 1.2% of its workforce. The company cited recent organizational changes to its commercial team as the reason behind the job cuts.

It seems the recent layoffs hitting many large tech and growth companies are starting to spread even to well-known healthcare firms. Indeed, the California-based company is one of the largest independent biotech businesses in the world with roughly 24,200 employees in more than 50 countries.

While tech and growth companies have grabbed the headlines recently, with notable layoffs from the likes of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet’s Google (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and more, it seems rising interest rates and fears of a burgeoning recession have pushed other industries toward job cuts.

The healthcare sector has generally remained steadfast, in no small part due to the effect of the pandemic demand boom.

Recently, however, things have taken a turn for the worst. Since January 2022, more than 52 U.S. hospitals have filed layoff notices. As companies have admitted financial and operational challenges, more than 4,000 employees have been laid off.

What Do Amgen Layoffs Mean for AMGN Stock?

AMGN stock has faired pretty well so far today. Amgen stock is down less than a percent heading into the afternoon, though the company is down nearly 4% so far this year.

Interestingly, AMGN was one of the few winners of last year’s bear market. The company managed to climb more than 10% over the past year even as the S&P 500 lost 20% of its value in 2022.

Despite today’s bleak announcement, Amgen continues to step on the gas in other aspects of its business. Namely, Amgen’s rheumatoid arthritis treatment, Amjevita, is set to hit the market Tuesday. Amjevita represents the first biosimilar to the blockbuster drug Humira, kicking off what will likely be a firestorm of clones.

Amjevita anticipation may be the reason behind AMGN’s relatively stubborn stock price, even following today’s layoff announcement. However, we don’t yet know whether the drug release will prove as beneficial to the company as some investors are hoping.

On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2023/01/amgen-layoffs-2023-what-to-know-about-the-latest-amgn-job-cuts/.

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