Antibiotics Giant Xellia Shocks Industry With Plans For 247 Layoffs Amid Ohio Plant Sale

Following the recent acquisition by generic drugmaker Hikma of portions of Xellia’s U.S. assets, Xellia has announced plans for a new round of layoffs. The Danish pharmaceutical company will cut 247 positions in connection with the sale of its Bedford plant near Cleveland, Ohio, to Hikma. According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) alert sent to the state, 214 of the affected employees are based at the Bedford facility.

 These layoffs, scheduled to begin in August, will impact various roles within Xellia, including analytical chemists, aseptic operators, automation engineers, IT technicians, and managerial positions. This is the second round of layoffs for Xellia this year, following a previous announcement in December 2023 that approximately 80 positions at the Bedford plant would be phased out starting in February.

 The decision to reduce staff comes shortly after Hikma’s acquisition, where they agreed to pay $135 million in cash and $50 million in contingencies for parts of Xellia’s U.S. assets, including the manufacturing facility in Cleveland's suburbs. The Bedford plant, as noted by Hikma, possesses comprehensive capabilities for developing, manufacturing, packaging, and distributing freeze-dried vials and aseptically filled ready-to-use IV bag products.

 In addition to the Bedford plant, Hikma will acquire Xellia’s portfolio of ready-to-use products such as Vanco Ready (vancomycin), a treatment for bacterial infections. The acquisition also includes an R&D facility and its staff present in Zagreb, Croatia.