As CSL embarks on a restructuring drive to save more than $500 million annually over the next three years, the Australian company’s workforce reduction plans have reached one of its subsidiaries in Pennsylvania.
Vifor Pharma is letting go of 55 employees who report to the Swiss company’s primary U.S. office in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice filed with the state. The job cuts are expected to go into effect Dec. 1, according to the layoff alert.
"Following a thorough assessment of our business needs and the broader economic environment, we have reorganized our field-based teams to support our evolving product portfolio and better align with our long-term goals," a Vifor spokesperson told Fierce Pharma.
A restructuring of the company's medical affairs and commercial teams led to the cuts, the spokesperson said.
"While these employees are spread out across the country, they officially report up through our headquarters in King of Prussia, PA, which is why a WARN notice has been triggered," the spokesperson added.
CSL, which has long focused on blood plasma products, laid out $11.7 billion to purchase Vifor and its kidney disease and iron deficiency franchises in late 2021. The deal closed the following summer.
The Vifor downsizing effort comes a little less than two months after CSL revealed plans to reduce its global workforce by up to 15% in an effort to save between $500 million and $550 million a year progressively over the next three years.
Under the plan, the parent company noted that CSL Vifor and CSL Behring would merge their medical and commercial functions to “deliver further synergies and additional revenue growth opportunities.”
Concerns about Vifor’s performance have been brewing for some time now. Last February, CSL said it had “dampened” its expectations for Vifor, citing commercial and regulatory hurdles as well as lackluster performance of its subsidiary’s late-stage products in the clinic.
CSL previously implemented Vifor layoffs in 2023, dismissing 85 staffers in California following a strategic review in the wake of its acquisition.
Alongside its restructuring, CSL this year said it would spin off its large vaccine division, CSL Seqirus, into a publicly listed company in Australia.