Pfizer to Lay Off 100 Employees from Former Seagen HQ Amid Cost Cuttings

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Key Takeaways

Pfizer's cost-cutting measures include layoffs at multiple sites, aiming to improve R&D productivity and efficiency through digital enablement and automation.
The acquisition of Seagen and subsequent cost-cutting initiatives have led to significant workforce reductions, with criticism from activist investor Starboard Value.
Despite strategic challenges, Pfizer reported a 7% increase in operational growth for 2024, with anticipated net savings of $4.5 billion by year-end.

Pfizer initiates layoffs at its Bothell site as part of a broader cost-cutting strategy, aiming to enhance R&D efficiency and automation.

The layoffs directly affect Pfizer employees in the Bothell, Washington area.
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Layoffs are looming at Pfizer’s Bothell, Washington, site as the company looks to aggressively cut costs. An estimated 100 positions are at risk, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice, with layoffs having already begun.

According to the Seattle Times, a spokesperson for Pfizer commented on the layoffs, saying, “The retrenchment effort is part of the company’s push to improve R&D productivity and efficiency with a sharpened focus on opportunities. The pharma is also simplifying the way it works through digital enablement and automation, which we believe will deliver the greatest impact for patients.”¹

Pfizer’s cost cutting saga

Pfizer obtained its Bothell site location two years ago in May 2023 when it acquired Seagen for $43 billion. The Bothell location originally served as Seagen’s headquarters, along with housing a manufacturing facility for biologic products and leased space for research & development along with general administrative purposes.

Shortly following the acquisition of Seagen, Pfizer launched a $3.5 billion cost-cutting initiative, with the company citing a workforce reduction without specifying the number of layoffs expected. In the end, 200 employees from Kalamazoo, Michigan, received pink slips, with a Pfizer spokesman attributing the layoffs at the time to “the lower-than-expected utilization for our COVID-19 products” and the pharma’s “enterprise-wide cost realignment program.”¹

Layoffs continued for Pfizer employees, as 100 positions at Newbridge, Ireland, were terminated, along with 500 at Kent in the UK. In December 2023, Pfizer pinned an additional $500 million to its saving target for the 2024 fiscal year. In May, Pfizer raised its 2024 cost-cutting total to $1.5 billion, with an end date of 2027. Pfizer continued to add more to its goal, raising the total to $1.7 billion in April this year, and in the same month laid off 56 employees from its San Diego location.

“All job-related decisions have and will be made with transparency, compassion, and respect, and in compliance with applicable laws. Pfizer does not take these changes lightly,” a Pfizer spokesperson said.¹

Starboard’s stake

Amid the consistent funding cuts by Pfizer, activist investor Starboard Value took a $1 billion stake in the company in October 2024 to assist turnaround the organization’s business woes. Starboard reportedly “lost confidence” in Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla, as the firm believes Pfizer strayed away from its “disciplined spending and investment in novel drugs,” and went on to bash Pfizer’s acquisitions of Seagen, and Global Blood Therapeutics.

Seagen (originally referred to as Seattle Genetics) a biotechnology company specializing in cancer treatments, made headlines when Pfizer acquired the company in December 2023.

Albert Bourla, Pfizer chairman and CEO, touched on the acquisition, saying, “With one of the largest investments in Pfizer’s history, we are going all in on cancer with the goal of delivering breakthroughs that drastically improve the lives of people with cancer. We believe Oncology will be a significant growth driver for Pfizer and contribute meaningfully to the achievement of our near- and long-term financial goals.”¹

Yet Pfizer’s acquisition of Seagen made a downturn, as April 2024 saw Pfizer shut down Seagens construction on a new manufacturing plant in Everett, along with laying off another 119 employees.

Pfizer’s financials

Pfizer reported $63.3 billion in total revenues for 2024 marking a 7% increase in operational growth year over year. The company estimates that its cost cutting initiatives will provide net savings upwards of $4.5 billion by the end of the year.

Sources

Pfizer lays off 100 Bothell employees, citing efficiency, automation Seattle Times August 26, 2025 https://www.seattletimes.com/business/pfizer-lays-off-100-bothell-employees-citing-efficiency-automation/
Worker adjustment and retraining notification (WARN) layoff and closure database Employment Security Department August 25, 2025 https://esd.wa.gov/employer-requirements/layoffs-and-employee-notifications/worker-adjustment-and-retraining-notification-warn-layoff-and-closure-database

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