Gilead Sciences has filed a WARN notice with the state of California disclosing plans to lay off 108 workers at 800 Bridge Parkway in Redwood City, the California site of Arcellx, the CAR-T biotech it acquired for $7.8 billion earlier this year. The cuts are slated to begin at the end of June and represent a significant portion of Arcellx’s headcount, which stood at 209 full-time employees as of the end of 2025.
Gilead confirmed the layoffs are part of the post-acquisition integration process. The company said it has begun communicating the decision to affected employees and is focused on supporting staff through the transition.
The Foster City-based pharmaceutical giant closed the Arcellx deal last week, paying $115 per share in cash with shareholders also eligible to receive an additional $5 per share if cumulative global sales of anito-cel, the BCMA-directed CAR-T therapy at the center of the acquisition, hit $6 billion by the end of 2029. Gilead had partnered with Arcellx to develop anitocabtagene autoleucel in 2022 before moving to acquire the company outright in February. The FDA is expected to issue an approval decision for anito-cel in fourth-line multiple myeloma by December 23, 2026.
Post-acquisition workforce consolidation is common in large biopharma deals. Amgen laid off around 350 former Horizon employees following its $27.8 billion buyout of that company in 2023, and Novartis shuttered two MorphoSys sites and cut approximately 330 positions after its takeover of the German cancer biotech the following year.
