BLOOMINGTON – Catalent is reducing its staff in Bloomington, Indiana by 150.
Affected employees will be notified by the end of this week, officials said.
Catalent Inc., a contract drug manufacturer based in New Jersey, said is blaming productivity issues and higher-than-expected costs at three plants – including the operation in Bloomington.
Catalent’s Bloomington facility produced vaccines during the pandemic and added personnel “at an extraordinary rate to ensure that we could meet our commitments, but now the size and structure of our organization needs to match current demands to increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” a spokesman said.
“Bloomington remains an important part of Catalent’s global network and long-term growth strategy,” added the spokesperson.
Catalent said it has identified “certain potential non-cash adjustments” related to operations in Bloomington.
“Since the start of the pandemic, Catalent’s Bloomington facility has played a critical role in producing the vaccines and therapies that have protected public health around the world,” the Catalent spokesperson said. “To meet the needs of the pandemic, we added personnel to the facility at an extraordinary rate to ensure that we could meet our commitments, but now the size and structure of our organization need to match current demands to increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness.”
In Texas, 77 were laid off in January 2023. The 32,000-square-foot site serves as clinical development and manufacturing facility for cell therapies.
At the Gaithersburg, Maryland plant, the company laid off 82 employees, and the Rockville, Maryland plant laid off 53 employees in January 2023 The reason provided at both sites was “plant closure,” according to the WARN notices.
Early this month, when Catalent reported its earnings for the last quarter, it slashed its revenue projection significantly for 2023, citing among other factors, a decline in COVID-19 revenue.
Catalent also reported it has begun to implement “cost efficiency activities,” according to chief financial officer Tom Castellano, and a “fiscally prudent approach,” added CEO Alessandro Maselli.
Catalent shares have steadily dropped in value over the past year as business has slowed, particularly due to declining demand for services related to COVID-19 vaccine production.
William Blair analyst Max Smock identified some key risks in the next three to five years for Catalent, including quality assurance problems identified by regulators that can cause delays and potentially harm the company’s reputation with other clients.
