About 675 will be laid off at local Amgen office
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

About 675 Thousand Oaks employees will be let go from Amgen headquarters by early November, according to an internal e-mail memo from CEO Kevin Sharer on Monday.

Which divisions, jobs or levels of employment will be targeted won't be revealed until the people affected are each notified in person in a respectful way, Amgen spokesperson Sarah Rockwell said.

"We don't want our people to hear about it through the media. We are mostly concerned about the well-being of our people who have been here a long time and have helped to build the company," Rockwell said. "This is not an easy thing to do."

In August it was announced that downsizing measures were expected to be completed by 2008 and save the Newbury Park company about $1 billion. At that time Amgen said it needed to reduce staff by 12 to 14 percent, or 2,200 to 2,600 workers companywide, along with other cutbacks.

Since then, about 700 employees across the United States and Puerto Rico have accepted voluntary buyouts. To do so, employees had to be eligible using a formula that included their age and years with the company. Their departures will begin in early October and continue through mid-November, Rockwell said.

After Amgen totaled the employees that accepted the buyout, attrition and jobs reduced by a partial hiring freeze, they announced there will be 1,500 layoffs, 45 percent of which will be the 675 expected at their headquarters in Thousand Oaks, Rockwell said.

One reason for the cutbacks were recent approval changes from the FDA affecting how the anemia drugs Epogen and Aranesp are to be labeled, according to Sharer.

"At Amgen we have always been committed to investing in the future while squarely facing the challenges of today," Sharer said. "Recent changes in coverage rules and adjustments to Amgen's FDA-approved labels for Epogen and Aranesp have and will adversely affect Amgen's revenue.

"The initiatives announced . . . respond to that new reality by taking account of reduced revenues and appropriately lowering costs across the company," Sharer said. "We will continue to strongly support our research efforts directed at development of new medicines for grievously ill patients. These changes will also position Amgen for success in 2008 and beyond."

"Any type of workforce reduction is unfortunate, especially for those individuals involved. These are real people who are going to be affected and we hope they are able to make the necessary adjustments they must make," Councilmember Dennis Gillette said.

As far as the long-term economic impact on Thousand Oaks, residents shouldn't worry too much at this time, city leaders have said.

Gillette he said he's going to wait and see.

"Obviously there will be some impact in some of the service areas. From what we heard initially, it could've been a greater number than what it is," he said.

Gary Wartik, economic development manager for the city of Thousand Oaks pointed out that Thousand Oaks has many job opportunities.

"We are well-balanced with over 4,100 employers and 82,000 jobs," he said.

About Amgen

Amgen discovers, develops and delivers human therapeutics. A biotechnology company since 1980, Amgen brings medicines from lab to manufacturing plant to patient.

Amgen therapeutics have been administered to millions of people around the world in the fight against cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other serious illnesses.