German biotech firm Biontech plans to cut up to 1860 jobs in Germany. It will close multiple production sites and end Covid vaccine production there this year. Only pure office locations will remain.
The Mainz-based biotech company Biontech will close multiple production sites in Germany and cease Covid vaccine production there still this year. Up to 1860 jobs are to be eliminated, affecting about 22 percent of staff. Biontech currently employs around 8400 workers. The share price dropped five percent following the announcement.
The restructuring responds to sharply reduced demand for Covid vaccines in Europe and the US since the end of the pandemic. The company also cites additional production capacities from acquiring Tübingen rival Curevac and partnerships with US pharma giants like Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Covid vaccine manufacturing will be fully transferred to Pfizer, while Bristol Myers Squibb takes over production of the cancer drug Pumitamig, which is still in development. Revenues from vaccine production are shared roughly equally between Pfizer and Biontech.
By the end of 2027, the plants in Idar-Oberstein, Marburg, and Singapore, as well as Curevac sites, are to be shut down. Biontech is examining sales options for the affected locations to mitigate job losses.
