Applied Biosystems to Cut 145 Jobs as Part of Structural Reorganization

NEW YORK, July 14 (GenomeWeb News) - Applied Biosystems will be eliminating approximately 145 jobs - about 3.5 percent of its 4,400-person workforce - as part of a structural reorganization plan, the company disclosed in a July 13 US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

A majority of the layoffs are in R&D, with additional jobs being cut in areas such as sales, manufacturing, and product management, the company said. ABI also said that its Foster City, Calif.headquarters location would be most affected.

The layoffs commenced with the July 1 start of ABI's fiscal year 2005, and are related to a structural reorganization in which the company is creating four new business divisions: Molecular biology; proteomics and small molecules; applied markets; and service. Each of these divisions will have a dedicated president, product development and advanced manufacturing resources, and product line and marketing management, ABI said.

The restructuring, according to the SEC filing, is expected to be substantially phased in by the end of the current fiscal quarter (Sept. 30).

During its fiscal year 2004, ABI also created an advanced research and technology group. According to Lori Murray, an ABI spokesperson, this unit is responsible for seeking out promising technologies from customers and evaluating their viability as potential new products.

To further this initiative, as part of the current restructuring ABI will be forming another new unit to incubate these technologies and attempt to bring them to market, Murraysaid. This unit is also anticipated to be in place by Sept. 30, she said.