Biotech giant Genentech said it plans to close its South San Francisco manufacturing facility, laying off 265 workers there, the company confirmed.
The drugmaker said the move was part of a long-term plan and was unrelated to the current economic downturn.
The announcement comes after the South San Francisco City Council approved the company’s 2020 plans to expand its headquarters there by up to 4.3 million square feet over the next 15 years, a long-term plan that is one of the largest in the Bay Area Area was real estate projects.
The company has previously cut 474 Bay Area-related jobs, including at its South San Francisco location in 2020.
The company said in an emailed statement it had planned for more than a decade to end production at the facility, where it has been making drugs and cancer therapies since the early 1980s.
“More than 15 years ago, we made the strategic decision to withdraw from commercial manufacturing in South San Francisco,” the statement said. “This decision was part of a thoughtful, long-term plan to focus clinical supplies manufacturing in South San Francisco, where it is co-located with our R&D organization, while commercial manufacturing moves to other locations in our global manufacturing network.”
Genentech plans to close its South San Francisco manufacturing facility and lay off about 265 employees.
Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle 2018
The company said employees leaving the company would receive severance and other financial benefits, extended health insurance and career transition services, adding: “Those wishing to remain with Genentech are eligible and encouraged to apply for other positions at our US locations, including our new commercial manufacturing facility in Oceanside, California.”
Genentech also has manufacturing facilities in Vacaville and in Hillsboro, Ore.
In 2019, the company employed about 900 people at the facility when it finalized its initial exit schedule, “most of whom have moved to other roles within the company, such as our new clinical care center in South San Francisco,” which opened last fall was opened, the company announced.
Genentech employs a total of more than 13,000 people as of 2021, with its South San Francisco headquarters including 40 buildings for research, manufacturing and other operations.
“We value and respect all of our employees and their contributions to the legacy – and future – of manufacturing here in South San Francisco. They are an integral part of our ability to get innovative medicines to those who need them, and we are committed to supporting those whose jobs have been impacted during this time,” the company said.
Reach Chase DiFeliciantonio: Chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice
