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Layoffs at Life Science, Dx Firms Continue as Thermo Fisher Scientific, Natera Shrink Payrolls

This story has been updated to report the number of Natera employees affected by the layoffs.

NEW YORK – Natera and Thermo Fisher Scientific have, between the two firms, laid off hundreds of employees since January.

According to multiples posts on LinkedIn from former employees, Natera laid off an unspecified number of workers last Friday as part of a restructuring. At least three posts came from people who held the title "medical science liaison."

"We have made the decision to part ways with a small percentage of our workforce," a Natera spokesperson said in an email. The firm did not respond to questions about how many employees were laid off or where the cuts went deepest; however, two sources, including one former Natera employee, told GenomeWeb that approximately 100 staff lost their jobs. "We are always reviewing our business to be as efficient as possible while supporting long-term sustainable growth," the Natera spokesperson added. 

According to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filings with the state of California, Thermo Fisher earlier this month laid off 154 employees in the San Diego area, at sites associated with Mesa Biotech, a COVID-19 test maker acquired in January 2021 for $450 million in cash with up to $100 million in add-ons. That follows notices from late January that Thermo Fisher laid off another 230 workers at the same sites. At the time of the acquisition, Mesa had approximately 500 employees.

The Natera layoffs follow a November 2022 announcement that the Austin, Texas-based firm cut 58 jobs in California.

Cuts at the two firms come amid a wave of downsizing happening across the life sciences and diagnostics sectors, including at Guardant Health, Personalis, Cue Health, and Epigenomics.

Thermo Fisher did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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