NEW YORK – Qiagen will lay off approximately 175 employees associated with its NeuMoDx PCR testing business over the next year as it closes down the Ann Arbor, Michigan, manufacturing site for that business segment, according to a recent Michigan state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing.
The layoffs were expected as Qiagen said in June that it was discontinuing the NeuMoDx business, citing changing customer needs for integrated molecular testing systems. Qiagen CEO Thierry Bernard had noted in previous earnings calls that the company was reviewing strategic options for the business after it experienced multiple consecutive quarters of dwindling sales.
The business comprises the NeuMoDx 96 and NeuMoDx 288 test systems and a menu of more than 15 CE-IVD-marked and two US Food and Drug Administration-cleared infectious disease assays. The test system combines proprietary nucleic acid extraction technologies, microfluidics, and silicon-based thermal cycling to enable automated, random-access molecular testing using both Qiagen-branded and laboratory-developed tests.
Qiagen acquired NeuMoDx and its technology in September 2020 for $248 million.
According to the WARN notice, employees will be let go in stages over the rest of this year and into next year, with the final group of workers laid off between September 2025 and November 2025.
A Qiagen spokesperson noted in an email that the company is "supporting all affected employees and all decisions are made in a socially responsible manner."
Qiagen previously noted that it will continue to provide support to existing NeuMoDx customers into 2025 and will help them transition to other solutions.
Also as previously reported, the company expects to incur a pretax restructuring charge of approximately $400 million in connection with the facility closure, including about $300 million of noncash charges, to be recognized primarily in Q2 2024. Last month, Qiagen reaffirmed its second quarter outlook for net sales of at least $495 million at constant exchange rates (CER) and adjusted diluted EPS of $.52 CER. The company is expected to report its Q2 earnings after the close of the market on July 31.
In midmorning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Qiagen were flat at $42.47.